


Clue

by Eilera



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: But really its not much, Butchering of a beloved family board game, Drama, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, I'm not kidding, Lots of Whump, M/M, Mystery, Psychological Trauma, Romance, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2013-06-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 05:34:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/845893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eilera/pseuds/Eilera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When what starts as a straightforward mission suddenly turns deadly, it's up to the Shibusen group to figure out what the hell is going on. If Kid and Soul manage to get together in the process, well, that's just a bonus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I first posted this on FF.net, but I like Archive of our Own a lot more so I'm posting it here as well. 
> 
> There are some things that will happen in this story that might...disappoint some people. But I can't give too many clues without ruining everything. So I'm asking you to trust me please! 
> 
> This story is un-beta'd. All of the horrendous spelling and grammar errors you find are all, sadly, mine. 
> 
> I do not own these characters, nor do I own Clue.

“Hya hahaha! Why are we sitting here watching this boring building? The Great Black Star doesn't need to worry about a couple of witches! I am greater than God!”

“Black Star we don't know how many of them there are and we can't just rush in unprepared.” Tsubaki whispered, trying and failing to calm down her wayward technician.

“This wouldn't take so long if this idiot would just shut up.” Soul growled, crouched down next to his meister, the wind causing him to shiver slightly from the cold.

“Your jealousy doesn't phase me!” Black Star proclaimed, his finger pointing in the air as he struck a pose, ignoring Tsubaki's attempts to hide him. “I am used to such reactions, my friend! It is understandable when faced with my-oomph!”

“Shut up!” Maka hissed, her fist poised to hit the other technician again. “There they are!”

“How many are there?” Tsubaki asked, covering her meister's mouth with her hands as he flailed around.

“I count four.” Kid said grimly, narrowing his yellow eyes at the building they were currently staking. 

“As much as I'd rather not take them all on at once, we don't have much time left before they begin the ritual.” Liz commented, passing a gray crayon to her sister to keep her occupied. Patti giggled, coloring pictures of elephants and sheep. 

“Now or never.” Maka shrugged. “Soul.” 

“Yeah.” The weapon grunted, transforming into his scythe form. 

The other weapons followed suit as the three technicians headed towards the abandoned warehouse in front of them. It had originally been a storage and packaging facility for Pocky of all flavors, but the building was shut down when they decided they needed a bigger one.

“Chichiue said there might be more on the inside, we should approach with caution.” Kid suggested, gripping his twin pistols tightly.

“Of course-” Maka began but she was cut off by a whooshing sound to her left.

“Yosh!” Black Star cheered, jumping down from their vantage point and landing in a crouched position in front of the warehouse. “The great Black Star will lead the way! Cower before the might of God!” 

Kid and Maka's eyes twitched simultaneously, watching as Black Star rushed the front door without any semblance of sneakiness whatsoever. 

“Here we go again.” Kid groaned, running his hand over his face as Maka sighed. “Let's go make sure he doesn't kill everybody.”

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The three technicians made their way through the curiously empty hallways and passages, their eyes constantly alert for any sign of movement other than themselves. They had trained together in a team environment for years now and had recently been accepted into Shinigami-sama's own elite guard. This upper class group of meisters and their weapons were tasked with various duties from undercover dealings to assassinations. All four of the weapons had been turned into Death Scythes but were allowed to stay with their original technicians to serve Shinigami-sama. 

“There's so much dust in here.” Maka complained, her nose twitching slightly.

“I'll protect you from the dust bunnies, Maka!” Black Star proclaimed, stomping his foot and causing little puffs of dust to spring into the air. He sneezed.

“Do you even understand the word 'subtle'?” Kid snapped, sending the ninja a glare. 

“Don't you guys think all this dust is a little bit suspicious?” Maka inquired, running her finger along a shelf, her gloved hand coming away coated in dust.

“How can anyone live in this filth?” Kid whined, his eyes darting around and his fingers twitching with the intense need to clean.

“Down boy.” Liz's voice sounded from one of the guns in Kid's hands.

Maka sighed as they walked into a large chamber with various machinery. They were rusted with ill use, some of them covered in sheets and tarps. The three technicians moved forward, each one looking around for their supposed enemies. They had seen them enter the building, what was going on?

“What's that?” Came Soul's voice, causing Maka to scan ahead, looking for whatever had caught her weapon's eye. A little ways ahead of them was a large blue tarp on the ground. There was a bulky, quivering lump underneath it and Maka suddenly became aware of a soft rattling breath echoing throughout the large room.

“AUGH what is that!?” Liz demanded from within her weapon form, hugging herself.

The three technicians walked up to the edge of the tarp, eying the lump in the middle warily. Maka clutched Soul closer to her, shivering slightly as the room seemed to get colder.

“I have an extreme sense of foreboding.” Kid muttered, taking a step away from the tarp. “Something is not right.”

“Hya hahaha! It's just a tarp. Whatever is underneath it will fall before my greatness!” Black Star cackled, his enthusiasm attempting to mask his nervousness.

The hairs on the back of Maka's neck raised as she squinted her eyes at the quivering form in front of her. Something was definitely wrong, Kid was right. This must be some sort of trap, the witches somehow knew they were coming. 

Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise behind them and the three meisters whipped around, staring out into the darkness. Maka frowned, scanning in front of her. 

The rattling breathing suddenly stopped.

Out of nowhere cold, clammy hands wrapped around Maka's ankles. She gave a yelp of fright as the hands pulled her backwards, causing her to fall.

“Maka!!” Black Star yelled, running towards her as the hands started pulling the female technician under the tarp with startling swiftness.

“No!” Maka screamed, her free hand scraping at the cement floor and her other one trying to get Soul jammed into the floor. A high pitched screeching noise rang through the room, resembling nails on a chalkboard as Soul's blade was dragged along the floor, a deep scratch following it's path. Kid leaped forward, trying to grab her hand but he was too late as Maka and Soul were pulled under the tarp, Maka's scream instantly being cut off as she disappeared. The lump in the middle of the floor swelled momentarily before slowly retracting back to it's original size. 

“What the hell was that?” Black Star exclaimed, his knuckles white where he was holding Tsubaki. Before Kid could reply, the ninja ran forward, gripping the edge of the tarp and throwing it up and off the lump in the middle. 

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Kid's yellow eyes widened in shock as the tarp lifted off the ground slowly, uncovering the quivering lump beneath it. It somewhat resembled a giant maggot, although it was purple in color and was oozing a puke green substance. It quivered and moved as though something was trapped inside and was trying to punch itself to freedom. As the tarp reached it's peak the monster shuddered and hands started to puncture it's skin, stringy green ooze linking the limbs together in a grotesque display. Kid didn't even have time to cry out a warning as the hands suddenly shot forward, grabbing the ninja by the neck and the shinigami by the face. 

The two technicians were pulled forward, the maggot's skin separating and revealing a gaping O-shaped mouth with jagged teeth and more green ooze. 

And then there was darkness.

The tarp fluttered slowly back to the ground, the lump sinking into the floor as silence reigned.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid awoke with a massive headache and something heavy draped across his chest. If Liz and Patti were playing a trick on him again...

With a sigh the shinigami opened his eyes, squinting at the light from a setting sun in the distance, it's reddish glow bathing the surrounding area crimson. Kid looked down at his chest realizing he was wearing his usual impeccably clean white suit and cravat. He nearly had an aneurysm when he realized it was Soul draped across his chest, clearly unconscious. The weapon was wearing his usual black pinstriped suit, red shirt and black tie. Kid let his head flop back down onto the ground, staring up at the sky above him. 

'What the hell happened?' He thought, frowning up at the clouds. They had gone on a mission for Shinigami-sama and he was sure they hadn't been wearing these outfits when they'd left...

“The monster.” Kid muttered out loud, sitting up straight when the memories of what had occurred returned to him. Soul's unconscious form landed in Kid's lap, causing the shinigami to blush slightly. “Soul, wake up.” He demanded, poking the weapon in the side. 

When the weapon just mumbled something and clutched Kid's suit jacket, the shinigami's blush darkened perceptibly. Trying to keep his mind off the figure in his lap, Kid took in his surroundings. They seemed to be in a garden of some sort, beautifully kept flowers and trimmed bushes surrounded a pond and a stepping stone pathway. Kid noticed what looked like a hedge maze to his left and a rather large old fashioned mansion in the distance. Where the hell were they and where were the others? 

“There you are! I was just going to-oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!” A feminine voice gasped, making Kid whip his torso around to stare at the intruder.

Standing before him was a woman, Kid placed her age in her late 30s. She was wearing a voluptuous purple dress that clung to her rotund frame. Matching purple gloves covered her hands and forearm and a white feather boa was wrapped around her flabby neck. She had green eyeshadow over her brown eyes and her hair had some wisps of gray mixed in with the black. A rather large peacock feathered purple hat adorned her head. All in all it was a bizarre appearance. 

“I...what?” Kid stuttered, dumbly. Soul groaned, his blood red eyes opening slowly and looking up at Kid. The weapon blinked lazily, taking in the scene before him. 

“Master Soul, the Colonel has been waiting for you and your...friend.” The woman replied stonily, glancing at the shinigami. “You're going to be late for the dinner.”

“Dinner? What?” Soul mumbled, glancing over at the stranger with her hands on her hips.

“Oh Mrs. White did say you were quite the prankster Master Soul! Come now, you wouldn't want to be lazing about outside in the dark. Chop, chop!” The woman tittered, attempting to pull Soul up into a standing position.

Kid stood up as the weapon was pulled off of him. Soul was clutching his head and glaring daggers at the stranger in front of him. 

“Let's go now boys, there'll be plenty of time later for you two to make love after the dinner.” The woman gave a sickeningly coquettish giggle, glancing between the two of them with a sly look in her eyes. 

“EHHH!?” Kid and Soul yelped simultaneously, their jaws hitting the ground.

“Now, now, did you really think that I, the lovely Mrs. Peacock, didn't hide in the garden to make out with my sweetheart in my youth, did you? Don't be silly. Let's go, let's go.” The woman giggled, grabbing both of their arms and dragging them towards the large mansion in the distance.

Only one thing was going through both Kid and Soul's heads.

'What the hell?'

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

Kid, Soul and Mrs. Peacock stood before the grand oak doors leading into the mansion. The two-story building was white with gray brick interspersed throughout its design. There was an elegant balcony on the second floor as well as two smaller ones on the left and right beneath large shuttered windows. Hanging flower pots hung on either side of the front door, and neatly trimmed bushes lined the edges of the house. It was an impressive sight.

Kid was drooling again. “Symmetry...” 

Soul rolled his eyes. 

“Let's not keep the Colonel waiting, boys!” Mrs. Peacock tittered, opening the front door and ushering them inside.

To call the inside of the mansion grand would be a gross understatement. It was obvious that no expense was spared in the making of such exquisite architecture. It's elegance and sophistication intimated to all that it's owner's were extremely wealthy. How they came to be so loaded was another matter all together. 

Soul preferred to assume the worst in people such as this.

Mrs. Peacock left the two young men in the foyer and scurried off down a hall, leaving them alone.

“What is going on?” Soul demanded as soon as she was out of earshot, turning to look at the shinigami.

“If I had any idea as to what was going on I would have mentioned it before now.” Kid replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “As it is, I have not had enough time to assess the situation. However, there are a few possibilities.”

“Such as?” Soul grunted, glaring at the refined foyer that reminded him so much of his past life. He'd prefer not to think about his life before Shibusen.

Sometimes he'd prefer not to think about Shibusen either.

“It is possible that we are in some sort of alternate reality as a result of being ingested by that disgusting creature at the warehouse.” Kid began, tapping his finger on his chin. “Or we could be under a mass hallucination from the witches.”

“Of course.” Soul muttered sarcastically before running his hand through his hair. “Maybe we've been transported to the afterlife where everything is gaudy and pompous and we're constantly accosted by some freakish peacock lady who thinks we're an item and for some reason seems to know me.”

Kid frowned. “That is not what the afterlife is like.”

Soul stared at the shinigami. “That's not...I wasn't...never mind.” He sighed. _'Well I guess he would know wouldn't he?'_

Before Kid could reply an elderly gentleman and what appeared to be his wife entered the room. The man was dressed in an impeccable veteran army uniform. His gray hair was cropped short and he had quite a magnificent mustache. He had a cliché monocle over his right eye and an old-fashioned pipe in his mouth. The woman was wearing an extravagant white dress that didn't quite hide her buxom frame. Her brown hair (obviously dyed in Soul's opinion) was held back in a tight, stern bun. Her fingers were covered in an outrageous amount of gaudy jewelery and her chubby wrists jangled with various bracelets. 

“Soul, my son, how nice of you to finally join us!” The man called genially, waving his pipe in the air. He didn't seem to notice Soul's eyes bug out of his head. “And I see you've brought your friend with you.”

“Now, now Cornelius, you know that he's his _boyfriend_ , we discussed this earlier.” The woman chided, frowning at the man beside her. “It's nice to see you again, sweetheart.” She added, turning to smile at Soul. 

The weapon was still recovering from the “son” statement, and to have “boyfriend” thrown at him as well almost sent him into an apoplectic fit.

Before Soul could say anything scathing in reply, Kid stepped on his foot. Soul silently vowed revenge. “It's nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh such manners!” The woman smiled, giving her husband a meaningful glance. “Don't mind my husband, he doesn't bite. Not with those dentures!” She giggled. “Here, let me get the maid to take your things. MAID!!!” Kid and Soul jumped at the sudden raise of voice.

“HAAAAIIIIIII!!” A familiar voice called back. Kid and Soul glanced at each other as footsteps neared the foyer and a petite blonde pranced into the room. Patti was clad in the typical old-fashioned maid uniform. It was black and white with many frills, bows and lace. She had white knee-high socks and black shoes as well as a white bow on her head. A feather duster was clutched in her hand like a sword.

“She's a bit...special...but she gets the job done. We've had to catch her up on all the important things in the household, what foods we like and don't like, how we like the bedding and all that, but she catches on pretty fast.” The woman whispered, nodding to Patti. “Make sure our son and his boyfriend are settled in comfortably and then escort them to the ballroom, will you?”

“Yes Mrs. White, right away Mrs. White!” Patti saluted.

“We'll speak more once you're settled in. Come along Cornelius.” Mrs. White smiled before leading her husband out of the room.

“Patti, what are you doing?” Kid hissed, pulling the girl closer.

“Kid-kun I didn't know you and Soul-kun were _dating_! Ahe hehehehe!” She giggled, giving them both a sly look. 

Kid and Soul blushed crimson.

“Onee-san always said you two were-”

“We are NOT a couple!” Kid hissed, grabbing the girl by her arms and shaking her. Soul sighed, feeling his headache get steadily worse.

“Eh? Why? It's so kawaii~!” Patti whined, pouting at the two of them.

“I can't stop her.” Kid groaned, assuming the position on all fours, banging his fist on the ground as Patti danced around him. “I'm worthless, despicable! I should be dead!”

“All right children, do you need a time out?” Soul growled, glaring at the pair in front of him. “Now is not the time, we need to figure out how to get out of here.”

“I just woke up here in this outfit! Everyone else started appearing shortly afterwards. You two are the last ones here!” Patti clapped her hands together. “It's a party!”

“The other's are here?” Soul asked, ignoring the shinigami who was still on the ground, crying.

“Ahe hehehe! Yep, everyone's here!” Patti chirped, crouching down to pat her meister on the back. She looked up at Soul. “No one else knows what happened either. And all the other people at this party think they know us.”

“Huh.” Soul grunted, frowning. “Oi, can you shut him up?” He demanded, glancing down at the shinigami who was getting increasingly louder in his self-admonishments.

“It never works with just one of us!” Patti grinned, looking up at Soul. “Ne, ne Soul-kun! I need you to help me cheer him up!” 

“....”

“Kid-kun! You're not worthless! What would the world do without you to make it symmetrical?” Patti coaxed, patting her meister on the back. 

“Er...” Soul crouched down next to the shinigami. “Um...yeah. If you died then we wouldn't have someone to take over when Shinigami-sama dies.”

Patti stared at Soul as Kid just continued to cause a scene. “You're not very good at this Soul-kun.”

Soul glared. “Shut up!” He glanced at the shinigami and sighed. “Look, Kid, if you stop freaking out I'll let you make my room symmetrical when we get out of here.”

Kid's yellow eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“The whole room?”

“Yeah.”

Kid jumped up, his energy returned. “Patti, Soul, let's move.”

“Waiiii~! Kid-kun is back to full power!” Patti cheered, breaking out into a fit of giggles. “Patti awaits your command, sir!” She grinned, saluting.

“Let's just go find the others.” Soul muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Patti quickly showed Kid and Soul to their room, giggling at the looks on their faces when they realized there was only one bed. Soul claimed that he could get another room set up (surely there was more than enough rooms in the house for everyone) but Patti insisted that they needed to keep up the pretense of being a loving couple.

Soul wasn't sure he liked the look in her eyes. 

After that the blond quickly showed them around the rest of the mansion. It really was as spacious as Soul had first guessed, with many different rooms that all looked as though they hadn't been occupied since furniture was put inside them. She showed them the enormous kitchen, the quiet conservatory, the elegant dining room, the billiards room, the library, lounge, hall and study, as well as the indoor swimming pool and the cellar. There were also a number of bedrooms and bathrooms spaced all throughout the mansion. 

“What about this room here?” Soul asked, pointing to a heavy oak door at the back of the house.

“I don't know, Mrs. White said that only the Colonel uses that room. She said that he's the only one with the key.”

Kid and Soul looked at the door curiously. It was, unsurprisingly, locked and so, with a wistful glance at the door, they allowed Patti to continue the tour.

“Everyone is gathered in the ballroom.” Patti announced, standing outside a set of magnificent double doors, her hand on the brass doorknob. “Maybe the other's have found out some more information.”

“Let us hope that we can get out of this mess as soon as possible. The witches may be performing their ritual as we speak.” Kid said darkly as Patti pushed open the doors to the ballroom.

It was possibly the largest room in the entire mansion and it's decor was so over the top as to be obscene. The high ceiling was domed at the top with extravagant paintings of baby angels that made Soul want to vomit. The walls were white with gold trimming and there were red tapestries and curtains interspersed throughout the room. Marble statues and ice sculptures were decorating various spots and a multitude of tremendous chandeliers graced the ceiling. The far wall was one immense mirror, reflecting the entire room and making it seem even larger. There was music playing from somewhere, it's classical melody just background noise behind the chatter. A large grand piano was on the left and a few tables and chairs were set up throughout the room.

“This is a nightmare.” Soul groaned, running his hand down his face before glancing back at the room.

“Soul, Kid!” a voice called from the right. The two young men headed towards Maka who was sitting quietly at one of the tables. She was wearing, strangely enough, a dark gray suit. 

“Maka, what's going on?” Kid asked, sitting across from her and moving over as Soul sat down next to him.

“I'm not exactly sure but it seems possible that we are in some sort of alternate reality as a result of being eaten by that gross creature at the warehouse.” Maka said, unknowingly repeating almost word-for-word what the shinigami had said earlier. 

“People in this reality seem to think they know us.” Soul said, slouching in his chair. “That old guy and the fat lady in white called me their son.”

“It seems that way.” Maka replied, fidgeting in her seat suddenly. “You're not the only one. That purple peacock lady is claiming that Black Star is her husband.” She said, nodding towards Black Star who was being smothered by Mrs. Peacock on the dance floor. “And Professor Plum over there,” She continued, nodding towards a slim, bi-spectacled man in the far corner. “He says that Tsubaki is his date. Liz is stuck with the elderly man there,” She finished, pointing to an extremely old man drooling over Liz by the piano. “Mr. Green claims that she is his much younger wife.”

Soul wrinkled his nose at the old man as Kid stared with his mouth open.

“What about you?” The red-eyed weapon asked, turning back to his meister. “No special someone for you?”

“I...umm...well...” Maka stuttered, face going tomato red.

“Ah, Soul-kun, Kid-kun, it's nice to finally meet you.” A sultry voice murmured, and the two young men turned towards it.

A stunningly beautiful young woman was standing with a hand on her hip and the other clutching a long cigarette holder, tendrils of smoke drifting lazily towards the ceiling. She had long, curly black hair and chocolate brown almond shaped eyes. She was wearing a revealing red dress that showed her ample cleavage. Red gloves and a small red hat and shoes completed the ensemble. All in all, she was a extremely attractive woman. 

“Uh...” Soul mumbled dumbly, trying to look anywhere but at her chest. 

“My, my, the Colonel didn't tell me you two were both handsome young men.” The woman smiled, raking her eyes over their bodies and stopping at Soul's eyes. “I love the color of scarlet, it is my namesake of course.” She whispered, leaning in close to Soul and pressing herself against him.

Soul stepped back as politely as he could, moving to stand beside Kid. It looked like his moment for revenge against Kid for stepping on his foot earlier was upon him. With a smirk on his face he wrapped his arms around the shinigami's waist and pulled him close. 

“My apologies, Ms. Scarlet.” The weapon replied, his sharp teeth giving him a predatory look as he smirked at her. “My boyfriend doesn't look kindly on others getting too close. He's the jealous type.” He said mournfully, running his hand down the shinigami's chest slowly.

Maka choked from somewhere beside him, but the weapon refused to look in her direction. 

Kid had stiffened when Soul grabbed him, but the scythe could have sworn he had felt the shinigami shudder slightly when he ran his hand down his chest. 

Ms. Scarlet pouted. “That's okay, I'm taken anyway!” She smiled, moving over to Maka and practically sitting in the meister's lap. “This is my partner.” She cooed, running her hand along Maka's jaw. 

Soul's jaw hit the floor as Maka sat uncomfortably stiff in her chair, blushing profusely and looking like she wished she was anywhere else. Kid was standing next to him still looking dazed from earlier.

Before Soul could formulate a response there was a chiming noise by the double doors. Mrs. White stopped ringing her little bell and called out to her guests.

“Thank you for coming everyone! Now that you are all here we will be starting the dinner shortly! If you could all start making your way to the dining room, we will start eating soon.” 

“Oh, lovely.” Ms. Scarlet sneered, watching Mrs. White disappear through the ornate double doors. “Honey, I'm going to the bathroom to freshen up and I'll meet you in the dining room, my love.” 

Maka nodded as the woman got up and sauntered out of the ballroom.

“Don't. Say. Anything.” She hissed, glaring at Soul.

The weapon held his hands up in mock surrender, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Of course Miss Tiny Tits would be the man.” He snickered, grabbing Kid's arm and booking it out the door before he could be hit with her patented Maka Chop. 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid found himself squished between Soul and Liz at the dinner table. Considering how outrageously rich these individuals seemed to be, the table barely fit all twelve people, not including Patti the “maid” who was bringing the dinner plates in from the kitchen. Mrs. White kept popping in and out, helping her bring in the various dishes.

“Kid, I don't care what we have to do to get out of here but _please_ let's get out of here _now_.” Liz whined, whispering so that the elderly man beside her wouldn't hear. “He is such a creepy pervert!”

“I don't know how to make that possible.” Kid replied, carefully cutting up his steak into equal-sized pieces. “We still don't know exactly what is going on.” 

“We could just kill everybody, maybe that would get us out of here.” Soul muttered, shifting his seat back a few more inches so that Ms. Scarlet, who was sitting across the table from him, couldn't stroke his leg with her foot. 

“I don't think so. We still don't know for sure if this is an alternate reality or not. We could be killing real people if we're not careful.” Kid said, staring intently at his steak. He measured each side of each piece with his finger, narrowing his eyes slightly at one that was a few millimeters too big. 

Soul rolled his eyes when it looked like Kid was about to have a fit over the offending portion of steak. He jabbed his fork onto the shinigami's plate, stealing the evil piece and popping it into his mouth. “There, now there's eight pieces.” He grumbled, talking with the food in his mouth. 

“You're disgusting.” Liz groaned, wrinkling her nose at Soul.

“And you're being groped by an old geezer.” The weapon replied, raising an eyebrow at the gnarled hand that was inching up Liz's leg.

“I need to use the bathroom!” The older Thompson sister proclaimed, jumping up in her seat and rushing out of the dining room, her sparkling blue dress flashing in the light.

Kid was still staring back and forth between his plate and Soul. Before the weapon could start to force-feed the shinigami himself, he was interrupted by a voice next to him. 

“Dude, she's not the only one with marital problems.” Black Star whispered from beside Soul. “Man, normally I wouldn't complain about some woman throwing herself at me. I mean, I am the great Black Star. But this lady is too much.” He finished, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Mrs. Peacock who seemed unable to keep her hands off of the ninja.

“I'd have thought you'd be more worried about Tsubaki. Isn't that her over there blushing over the charming Professor Plum?” Soul grinned, pointing with his fork at the weapon sitting next to Maka across the table. She was wearing a lovely beige dress with a black belt around the waist. Her head was tilted closer to the Professor and she had a faint pink tinge to her cheeks.

Black Star glared daggers at Professor Plum, his hand gripping his steak knife so hard that it bent slightly. “I trust Tsubaki, we've been together for three years now. It's creepers like him that I don't trust.” He watched as the Professor excused himself from the table and headed into the kitchen. He returned a few moments later with a new napkin.

Soul glanced back at Kid, watching as the shinigami finally picked up his fork and started eating his food. His plate was separated in perfect symmetry.

Liz had returned to her seat. She kept pushing Mr. Green's hand off of her lap.

“Can I have everyone's attention?” Colonel Mustard announced from the head of the table, standing up and tapping his fork on his wine glass. Chatter died down at the table as everyone turned to look at him. 

“First off, thank you all for coming on this important day. Today I will announce who will be receiving my hefty inheritance as well as become head of my prestigious company.” He beamed at everyone, holding up his newly refilled wine glass, courtesy of Patti. “But first, a toast!” Everyone else held up their glasses, Black Star nearly spilling his all over himself in the process. “To riches!” The Colonel called out and everyone clinked their glasses together before taking a sip of their drinks. 

Kid's yellow eyes scanned the table, taking in everyone's faces. Everyone was staring intently at the Colonel, waiting for his announcement. 

Everyone _except_ for Professor Plum. 

Kid frowned as he watched the Professor stare at his pocket watch, as though it were New Year's Eve and he were counting down the time towards the new year. 

“I've built this company up from scratch.” The Colonel was saying, waving his now empty wine glass around. “And I want to make sure it goes to someone who has a good head on their shoulders to take proper care of it.” He continued, putting the glass down sloppily and causing it to fall onto his plate before placing his hands on the table as though steadying himself. 

“I won't be around for much longer, time is catching up with me. It's time for retirement. Sandy beaches and little umbrella's in our drinks await, my dear.” He said, turning his reddening face to Mrs. White whose smile seemed strained. 

Kid was pretty sure his speech was slurred. Was he already that intoxicated? 

“And so, I decided to...to...hand it off...” The Colonel stopped, frowning slightly. His face was really red and he was sweating profusely. He reached for his napkin but before he could grab it he slid sideways, knocking over his chair. Black Star jumped up along with Tsubaki and Maka, the three of them rushing to the older man's side. Kid and Soul followed soon after, watching as blood poured out of the Colonel's mouth, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he started seizing on the floor.

Ms. Scarlet screamed, fainting from the sight of the blood. Soul caught her before she hit the ground. He dragged her away from the crowd and dumped her unceremoniously next to a potted plant.

Mrs. White was staring in horror and Professor Plum seemed unwilling to get close. Mrs. Peacock was carefully staying away from the blood, clutching her feathered boa to her chest, eyes wide.

The Colonel suddenly stopped seizing and became still, red-tinged vomit dribbling down his chin and blood trickling out of his eyes and nose. Tsubaki tentatively grabbed his wrist, feeling for a pulse.

“He's dead.”

The room erupted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the death of the Colonel, things start to pick up fast.

_The Colonel suddenly stopped seizing and became still, red-tinged vomit dribbling down his chin and blood trickling out of his eyes and nose. Tsubaki tentatively grabbed his wrist, feeling for a pulse._

_“He's dead.”_

_The room erupted._

“QUIET!” Mrs. Peacock suddenly yelled, causing everyone to stop talking and look at her. She had her arm around Mrs. White, who was quietly sobbing into the other woman's shoulder. 

“We need to get out of here.” Soul muttered to Kid, his eyes scanning the room for the others.

“No one is going anywhere.” Mr. Green's gravely voice announced, blocking the doors out of the dining room. “There is a huge snowstorm going on outside, it isn't safe to leave. Besides, it's obvious what happened here. This was a murder.”

Mrs. Peacock gasped, her hands raising to cover her mouth in horror. Soul frowned. _'Snow storm? Since when?'_

“Someone poisoned the Colonel's drink.” Mr. Green continued.

Silence reigned.

Ms. Scarlet groaned from the corner, sitting up from her prone position on the floor. She took one glance at the corpse on the floor and almost swooned again but she managed to control it and stand up with some help from Maka. The meister led her to a chair and sat her down.

“That's quite the accusation to make, Mr. Green.” Professor Plum said slowly, pulling his glasses off his face and wiping them down with a handkerchief.

“Nothing but poison could have caused _that_.” The old man growled, gesturing at the Colonel on the floor. “No, the question isn't _how_ but _who_.”

Everyone's eyes nervously glanced at the others.

“Well it must have been the maid!” Ms. Scarlet proclaimed, dramatically pointing her finger at Patti, who looked like she was about to cry. “She was the only one dealing with the food!”

“That's not true.” Kid denied, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mrs. White kept coming in and out from the kitchen as well. Professor Plum also went into the kitchen.”

“Are you suggesting that I killed my _husband_?” Mrs. White gasped, her face pale.

“Not as such. I am merely suggesting that the maid is not the only one who could have pulled this off.”

“If that's the case then Ms. Liz also left the room at some point, she could have poisoned his drink at that time.” Professor Plum pointed out, causing Liz to frown.

“It could have been anyone.” Soul growled, scowling. This is exactly why he wanted to kill everyone before something like this could have happened. People should listen to him more often. “Just because he consumed the poison during dinner does not necessarily mean that the poison was _placed_ during dinner.”

Everyone was silent once again.

“Well, be that as it may, no one is leaving until we determine who the culprit is.” Mr. Green announced, scanning everyone's faces in the room. “Let's all head to bed and think this through. We'll meet again in the morning.”

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

After the lights went out the meister's and their weapon's convened in Soul and Kid's room. 

“We need to get out of here.” Tsubaki whispered, holding onto Black Star's hand. 

“There's no getting out, I tried all the doors and windows but there seems to be some sort of barrier.” Maka replied, sitting at the desk chair next to the king-sized bed. 

Liz cried at this news, hugging her sister tightly. “We tried to contact Shinigami-sama through the mirrors but it didn't work either!” She added morosely. 

They all glanced out the window, noting the crazy snow storm going on outside.

“This is definitely a trap set up by the witches.” Soul grunted from his position on the bed staring at the ceiling. “I told you we should have killed everyone.” He added, glaring at Kid.

“We still don't know that. You know the number one rule is not to kill innocents.” The shinigami replied, pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed. “The barriers make things difficult though.”

“If we don't get out of here soon they could finish their ritual.” Black Star pointed out, his hand on his chin. “Maybe we should just bust our way out. Tsubaki, transform!”

Tsubaki nodded, closing her eyes in concentration.

Nothing happened.

“I...I can't transform.”

The other's stared at the female ninja in shock. Soul and the Thompson sister's quickly attempted to change into their weapon forms but after a few excruciating seconds, they realized it was hopeless.

“Ahe hehehehe! This is not good.” Patti laughed, nervously.

“So, how are we supposed to get out of here?” Maka asked the question on everyone's minds.

Silence.

“You know, this place reminds me of something.” Kid suddenly said, crossing his arms as he thought. 

“Like what?” Soul asked, sitting up on the bed.

Kid didn't reply right away. He stood staring at the wall, frowning in concentration.

Seconds ticked by.

The shinigami suddenly stepped forward, grabbing a picture frame hanging on the wall and moving it a millimeter to the right. “There.” 

Everyone sweatdropped.

“ _That_ was it!?” Liz yelled, her fist clenched in anger.

“No, it was bothering me though.” Kid replied, a satisfied look on his face. “As I was saying, chichiue used to like to play this board game when I was younger. He claimed that it would teach me problem solving skills that would help me in the future.”

“Something tells me he just wanted to play a game.” Soul deadpanned, propping his arm up on one knee. 

“Perhaps.” The shinigami conceded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “But it was a mystery game and you had to deduce who the murderer was. It was called 'Clue'.”

“I remember that game!” Maka gasped, standing up suddenly. “And the characters that you played...they had the same names as the ones we're meeting right now!”

“Are you serious?” Liz asked, looking between the two technicians. “We're stuck in a real-life murder mystery game?” 

“It appears so.” Kid said grimly, looking up. 

“Maybe the only way out is to find out whodunit?” Black Star asked.

“Seems to be the only thing that we can think of right now.” Tsubaki answered, yawning. “I think we should all head to bed and get some rest. We can tackle this tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” Soul grunted, flopping back down onto the bed.

They all said their good nights and left, leaving Kid and Soul alone in their room.

Together.

Soul opened the wardrobe, pulling out some pajamas and throwing them at the shinigami. They smacked him in the face and fell to the ground, leaving Kid's glaring yellow eyes shooting daggers at the scythe weapon.

“Put some pj's on _sweetheart_.” Soul said, his voice dripping with sarcastic honey. “I'm not sharing a bed with you naked.”

Kid blushed slightly, picking up the pajamas. Soul nearly had a heart attack when he turned around to find the shinigami taking his shirt off _right there_. All slow and sensual-like, his muscles rippling as he pulled off his button up shirt and tossed it into the laundry chute. 

And was he smirking?

Soul opened his mouth to say something. Closed it, opened it, closed it. He was gaping like a fish out of water. When Kid started to unbuckle his belt Soul pulled himself together and, with an irritated growl, he turned around and headed to the en suite bathroom to change. He was pretty sure he heard Kid's soft laughter follow him inside. 

_'Jackass.'_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sharing a bed was not something Soul was used to. Sure, his bed at home wasn't quite this big, but he didn't have to share it with anyone and he liked it that way. Not only that, but Kid was not the greatest person to be stuck sharing a bed with. The man was violent. He hogged the blankets, sprawled out all over the damn bed and at some point in the middle of the night he somehow managed to elbow Soul in the face and kick him in the groin. 

Unfortunately for Kid, Soul kicked back.

After he recovered of course.

And so, the morning after their first night sharing a bed together, the two young men awoke with a few small bruises and a large helping of grumpy on the side.

On the bright side, neither of them snored.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

“You two look horrible.” Black Star said cheerfully, clapping them both on the back. Hard.

“If my bedmate wasn't so violent...” Soul muttered petulantly.

“You kicked me back.” Kid pointed out, nursing his bruised elbow.

“I'm not putting up with you beating me in my sleep. It's domestic abuse.” Soul retaliated, rubbing the side of his face where a bruise was appearing.

“They're fighting like a married couple already.” Liz teased, giving them a sly look.

“Married couple, married couple!” Patti parroted, handing them each a steaming cup of coffee to wake them up.

“Mrs. White says we're all meeting in the lounge.” Maka interrupted as she entered the kitchen. Colonel Mustard's corpse had been moved some time in the night. None of them knew where. “What happened to your face?” She asked, looking at Soul.

The weapon mumbled something about violent shinigami's.

Patti led them to the lounge. This room was also quite large, though it was nothing compared to the ballroom. There were several squashy armchairs as well as a couch and love seat. There was a mini-kitchenette to the side and a large fireplace at the back wall. The room was clearly designed with comfort in mind.

“Wonderful fireplace isn't it?” Mrs. Peacock asked, watching Soul. “They're those new electric ones, you know. Turn themselves on at certain times of the day. This one usually starts around 12:00 in the afternoon.”

“...Fascinating.” 

Almost everyone was there, the only one's missing being Mr. Green, Ms. Scarlet and Black Star who had gone back to his room to grab a sweater for Mrs. Peacock. Patti was filtering in and out of the room with trays of pastries and other finger foods. 

“I'll go look for them.” Tsubaki declared before exiting the room.

Everyone was still tense and silent, looking anywhere but at each other. Ms. Scarlet filtered in a few minutes later, but the tension still remained. Black Star returned with the sweater and Mrs. Peacock cooed and giggled over him, thanking him for being such a gentleman. The male ninja looked like he was going to be sick.

“Well, while we wait I guess I will fill you all in on my findings regarding the Colonel.” Professor Plum said, breaking the silence. Everyone's eyes turned to him and he pulled out his handkerchief, nervously cleaning his glasses again. “It looks like it wasn't poison, but an extreme allergic reaction.”

“You mean he may not have been murdered? It might have been an accident?” Maka asked, a look of relief on her face.

“It's starting to look that way.” Professor Plum nodded and the tension in the room deteriorated slightly.

“I'm so glad.” Mrs. White said breathlessly. “I didn't want to accuse someone of murder.”

Soul was silent. He wasn't so sure. The fact that Colonel Mustard was about to announce his successor to a large sum of money and a profitable business seemed too coincidental to him. The timing was just too perfect. 

As though proving his thoughts right, a scream echoed throughout the mansion, causing a few people to jump in their chairs.

“What was that?” Mrs. Peacock whispered, her hand clutching her chest.

Black Star was up and out of the room before she had even finished speaking, the rest of the group on his heels. That scream had definitely belonged to Tsubaki.

They found the female ninja in the conservatory. She was shaking by the entryway, her hands clasped in front of her and her face pale.

Black Star was about to grab for her when Professor Plum shoved him to the side and grabbed Tsubaki's hands. “My love, what happened?”

“Over there.” She pointed a shaky finger towards the stairs. The conservatory was two floors, the second floor being a loft with a seating area. At the foot of the stairs lay the crumpled body of Mr. Green, his arms and legs sticking out at awkward angles and his head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees. 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

“This is crazy, someone is killing us all off, one by one!” Mrs. White said shrilly. 

They were back in the lounge after Soul, Kid and Black Star had dumped Mr. Green's corpse with the Colonel's in one of the unused bedrooms at the far end of the mansion.

“But why, why would someone do this?” Mrs. Peacock asked, clutching her feathered boa in her hands.

“It's obvious, isn't it? Someone is after the inheritance.” Liz announced, standing next to Patti by the fireplace.

“So what, they're going to kill all of us off because we're all competition?” Ms. Scarlet asked, nibbling on a biscuit.

“I don't see how you're competition.” Mrs. White said scathingly, glaring at Ms. Scarlet. “You're not connected to the family at all. You were just my husband's secretary.”

“With benefits on the side.” Kid heard Mrs. Peacock mutter next to him. He filed this piece of information away with a significant glance at Soul who nodded almost imperceptibly.

“Okay, we need to figure out who the most likely suspects are.” Maka sighed, tapping her chin. “Who was the most likely to receive the inheritance?”

“I would say either of our sons.” Mrs. White said after a moment, her gaze switching between Soul and Professor Plum.

“I didn't do it.” Soul grunted, crossing his arms.

“Nor I.” Professor Plum added, shaking his head.

“Well of course you wouldn't admit it.” Mrs. Peacock said, sipping her coffee. 

“But it might not be them at all, maybe it's their significant other's wanting to make sure that they got a portion of the inheritance.” Mrs. White added.

All eyes turned to Kid and Tsubaki. 

“Or maybe the Colonel's wife is greedy and doesn't want to share.” Black Star pointed out, glaring at the older woman.

“We can sit here pointing fingers all day. The fact of the matter is that we don't have any significant clues.” Tsubaki cut in, sensing the tension escalating in the room.

“All we know is that whoever killed the Colonel knew what he was allergic to. We can also note that whoever killed Mr. Green had to of been rather strong to do so. The man might have been old, but he was not small by any means.” Kid pointed out, his voice quiet.

Everyone pondered this information.

“That still doesn't help much.” Black Star muttered with a sigh.

“All we can do right now is try to be more vigilant. Anything suspicious should be investigated.” Maka said, looking around at the others.

It wasn't a very comforting plan.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Soul lightly ran his finger's along the piano top. He finally got a moment to himself and he gratefully took the opportunity to escape to a quiet area of the house. He was currently in the L-shaped billiards room where one end had a pool table and around the corner was a piano along with various other instruments such as a cello, violin and saxophone. 

Maka had saved up all her money and bought him a piano for at home. She knew he didn't like to play in front of others (too many bad memories), but at least with one at home he could have some privacy. When he had shed his previous background, he couldn't quite discard the piano. It was such a large part of him and it had helped shape who he was now. 

Maka thought that he only played for her. She was like a sister to him, family, and he had eventually grown accustomed to her sitting on the couch and listening to him play while she sipped some tea. What Maka didn't know was that she wasn't the only one who enjoyed listening to his melodies. 

Soul sat down on the bench, running his fingers along the keys. He looked around the room, his eyes scanning to make sure no one else was around. With a small smile, he began to slowly play, a mournful and haunting ballad that pulled at the heart. As he played, Soul remembered the first time Kid had heard him play...

_Soul slammed his hand down on the keyboard in frustration before putting his head in his hand. He'd been working on this composition for awhile now, and for some reason it just wasn't coming together. It was missing something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what._

_Maka had gone out shopping with the girls and he had decided to work on his composition for the few hours that she would be gone. With a sigh Soul scanned his handwritten sheet music, crossing out notes here, adding some more there. He got up and grabbed a new cup of coffee, taking a few sips before starting in on it again._

_He was so absorbed in his music, he didn't hear the quiet knock on the front door, nor the sound of it opening and closing._

_He finished playing his song (dammit, it still didn't sound right) and Soul rubbed the tiredness from his eyes._

_“That sounds amazing.” A voice said from behind him, causing him to give an undignified jump._

_“Kid. What are you doing here?” Soul asked, suddenly nervous. Did he hear him play?_

_“I thought I'd come to warn you that Black Star is planning on putting aphrodisiac in the drinks tonight.” Kid replied softly, reminding Soul of Tsubaki's birthday party that night._

_Soul smirked. “I wasn't planning on drinking anything he gave me anyway. I always bring my own booze.”_

_Kid nodded, sitting down carefully on Soul's couch. There was a moment of awkward silence._

_“Uh...is there anything else I can do for you?”_

_Kid was staring at the coffee table with that look in his eyes again. Sure enough, he sat forward and began to shove it more to the left. Soul rolled his eyes_.

_“You can continue playing, you know.” The shinigami said, frowning down at the coffee table. “I already heard most of it, it really was beautiful.”_

_Soul blushed, looking away from Kid. “I'm not happy with it.” He finally admitted, glancing at the shinigami out of the corner of his eye._

_“Oh really?” Kid replied, looking up from the coffee table. “I've had some training in music myself, I play the cello. I'm not a prodigy like you, but I know the basics. Go ahead and play me the whole thing, maybe you just need another point-of-view.”_

_Soul hesitated. He hadn't played (purposefully) for anyone else in years. But this composition was really bugging him and for some reason playing for Kid didn't seem so bad. With a stiff nod Soul turned back to the piano and began to play. The shinigami finished nudging the coffee table a few inches up and moved to stand behind Soul, leaning over him to stare at the sheet music. The weapon suppressed a sudden shudder, the warmth radiating off the shinigami making him hold his breath._

_Kid nodded as the song came to an end. Soul looked up at him, waiting._

_“I see.” The shinigami said before turning on his heel and marching out of the apartment._

_Soul blinked after him._

_Kid returned about fifteen minutes later, lugging a large case behind him. Soul guessed it was his cello and he wondered how he managed to get the damn thing up the stairs._

_“Play.” The shinigami demanded once he set up his instrument._

_“Uh...yes master?” Soul said uncertainly, turning back to the piano._

_He began to play once again only this time Kid joined in on his cello. The shinigami's instrument was more of a background melody to Soul's main one, but they complemented each other perfectly. There were some mistakes here and there, where Kid wasn't prepared for the change in tempo, but once they wrote out some sheet music Soul knew it would be perfect._

_When the song came to an end they both looked at each other._

_It was the start of something, Soul just didn't know what._

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid walked down the hall, pondering. Whoever it was that was murdering people was doing a damn good job of it. There just weren't very many clues to go on. With a sigh, he turned down the hall stopping when he heard a familiar melody. Someone was playing the piano in the billiards room. Kid didn't need to guess who.

With a small smile he headed towards the room. He liked watching Soul play the piano. His music always came from the heart and he just seemed so relaxed whenever he played. Kid entered the room quietly, so as not to disturb the weapon. He rounded the corner and stood back to watch Soul play. The light from the lamps were shining on the piano, lighting up the scythe's face. The sleeves of his suit were rolled up to the elbow, his tie slightly loose and the jacket unbuttoned. His eyes were closed, playing the song from memory.

Kid felt his heart rate speed up slightly at the sight and his face flushed. Soul looked strangely angelic considering the melancholy music he was playing. Kid pulled himself together as the song came to an end and the weapon slowly opened his red eyes. He blinked as he looked at the shinigami, frowning.

“Why do you always sneak up on me like that?” He asked, trying to look angry but the small quirk at the side of his mouth spoke volumes.

“I didn't want to interrupt you.” The shinigami shrugged, stepping forward to stand behind the weapon. “Was that a new song you wrote?”

Soul moved over so Kid could sit next to him on the bench. “...Yeah.” He grunted, looking away.

Kid placed his hand on the keyboard, pressing a few keys here and there. They were sitting so close, shoulders and thighs pressed together. The shinigami's hand brushed Soul's briefly as he pressed the keys, causing the weapon to stiffen slightly.

“I wrote it for someone.” Soul admitted, breaking the silence and looking away, pulling his hands off the keyboard. 

“For who?”

The weapon turned back to stare at Kid's eyes, the contrast between the red and yellow startling in the light from the lamp. Soul's eyes were flickering with so many different emotions Kid couldn't discern between them. 

And when did he get even closer?

“What did you want to meet me here for?” a voice suddenly demanded, causing Kid and Soul to jump apart, the weapon almost falling off the bench. 

The two young men looked around the room but they couldn't see anyone else. Kid gestured around the corner and put a finger to his lips, warning the weapon to be quiet.

His heart was still pounding.

He attributed it to being surprised.

Yeah.

“Because I don't want to be overheard.” Another voice replied, footsteps getting louder as they neared the corner. 

Kid's eyes widened and he grabbed Soul's arm, pulling him behind one of the curtains and shoving him up against the wall, one hand covering his mouth. The weapon glared at him and Kid removed his hand. 

“What's the problem?” Ms. Scarlet's voice demanded from nearby. Kid guessed she was sitting on the armchair near the piano.

“I think I know who the killer is.” Professor Plum replied, his voice was so close that Kid pushed Soul up against the wall even more in an attempt to stay out of reach, their bodies pressed together. “My kid brother always believed that he deserved the inheritance instead of me.”

“You mean Soul-kun?” Ms. Scarlet gasped. “Do you really think he did it?”

“If not him then his stupid boyfriend.” Professor Plum scoffed, his voice dangerous. “Father did not approve of their...relationship. I'm sure Soul wants to guarantee that he receives what father would have denied him.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Ms. Scarlet asked, her voice suddenly seductive. Soul rolled his eyes. _'How many people was this woman with?'_

“Don't worry, my love.” Plum replied, his voice further away. He must have walked over to his companion. “I will turn the others against him.”

“Ohhh I love an intelligent man.” Ms. Scarlet cooed, followed by noises that Kid and Soul would rather not think about.

The two young men were stuck behind the curtain until the Professor and Ms. Scarlet took their leave. The waited with baited breath as the door closed and they were engulfed in silence. 

“Damn.” Soul muttered, summing up the situation perfectly.

Kid could feel Soul's breath on his cheek and he suddenly realized how close they were. With a feeling of reluctance he stepped back, his hand brushing Soul's side as he did so. They looked at each other for a moment.

“We should go tell the others.” Soul said quietly, stepping out from behind the curtain.

“...Sure.” 

Why did it feel like he'd missed an opportunity?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the end of chapter two! I hope you all enjoyed all the tension between Kid and Soul! :)
> 
> For those of you who may be interested, these two songs below are the ones that inspired the piano and cello moments in this chapter. Take a moment to listen to them, they really are beautiful. 
> 
> Soul's Song:  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTgK4bNjZxg
> 
> Soul and Kid's Duet:  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wkogdMsCKI&feature=related (This is no longer on Youtube) :(


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things suddenly take a darker turn.

_Kid could feel Soul's breath on his cheek and he suddenly realized how close they were. With a feeling of reluctance he stepped back, his hand brushing Soul's side as he did so. They looked at each other for a moment._

_“We should go tell the others.” Soul said quietly, stepping out from behind the curtain._

_“...Sure.”_

_Why did it feel like he'd missed an opportunity?_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“What is the Professor going to do?” Maka asked quietly. The Shibusen group decided to meet that evening in the study, all seven of them squished together in squashy armchairs and a couch. The fireplace in the hearth was ablaze, the flames flickering merrily.

“I have no idea.” Soul replied, running his hand through his white hair. “I don't know if this counts the Professor out or if he's just trying to give himself cover.”

“He was suspicious the night of the dinner.” Kid supplied, sitting in a chair by one of the desks in the room. “He kept watching his pocket watch.” 

“We're just going in circles here.” Liz huffed, crossing her arms. “These people are being killed off and we have no idea who really did it.”

“I overheard someone asking Mr. Green to join them in the conservatory the night the Colonel died.” Tsubaki said quietly.

Black Star jumped up. “When did this happen?”

“Just after our meeting here last night.” Tsubaki replied. “I was just grabbing a glass of water when I heard a female voice talking to him.” 

“Could you tell who it was?” Patti asked, leaning forwards.

The female ninja sighed. “No, only that it was female. It was muffled by the kitchen door. I didn't think anything of it. I...it's my fault he's dead.”

“Don't say that!” Black Star yelled, shaking her a little too forcefully. “You didn't know that this person was going to kill more people!”

“It is an interesting clue though.” Kid interjected as Soul and Maka attempted to get the male ninja to release his partner. “It could mean that the murderer is female, unless the murder happened after their meeting...”

“There are too many variables, too many 'what ifs'.” Maka replied once they'd settled Black Star down. “I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out. We should split ourselves up tonight to patrol the house in turns.”

“That's a good idea. Patti and I will team up first, then Kid, Maka and Tsubaki and finally Black Star and Soul.” Liz nodded, pointing to each person in turn. 

They all nodded before saying good night and splitting up, Patti and Liz agreeing to wake up the next group in about three hours. 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid and Soul returned to their room, the weapon yawning widely as he grabbed his pajamas and automatically headed to the en suite bathroom to change. The shinigami's eyes followed him, blinking slightly when he realized that Soul hadn't fully closed the door. Kid could see the weapon's reflection in the mirror as he pulled off his suit jacket and began to unbutton his shirt. 

Kid tried to look away but found his eyes traitorously returning to the slit in the door. 

Well, it was quite a sight. He wouldn't want to waste it after all.

The shinigami watched Soul take off his shirt and rub his hand along the scar on his chest, almost as though it was bothering him. Kid blushed as the weapon sighed to himself and unbuckled his belt, sliding out of his pants and folding them carefully. If one were to ask the shinigami what color Soul's underwear was later that night, he wouldn't have been able to tell you.

He was, understandably, too busy taking in everything else.

(For those of you who might be curious, they were red.)

Kid finally tore his eyes away from Soul, turning his whole body around so he wouldn't be tempted to look again. Ever since the incident this afternoon in the billiards room, Kid had been unable to keep his mind off the weapon in the next room. Admittedly, he always did enjoy Soul's sarcastic company and though he was about the most unsymmetrical person in existence, Kid found that he didn't really mind all that much. Liz would call it a miracle.

And now he was purposefully...peeping at his fellow colleague! What would his father say!?

“Go for it!” Shinigami-sama's voice echoed in his head, giving him a thumbs up.

Kid sighed.

“I think you'd be a little uncomfortable sleeping in that outfit, but I've always known you were weird.” Soul's voice cut into Kid's hallucination, making the shinigami turn around. “Whatever floats your boat, man.”

Kid stared at him in annoyance. The weapon was wearing a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and a white t-shirt that was, to Kid's horror, slightly see-through. He had a toothbrush dangling out of his mouth causing his speech to be garbled. “I was...distracted.” The shinigami managed to reply.

“By what?” Soul asked between brush strokes, scratching his belly and giving Kid another glimpse of his toned stomach.

“Nothing.” Kid muttered, grabbing his pajamas and rushing into the bathroom.

“Oi! I need to shpit dish out!” Soul's garbled voice called out.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sharing a bed with Soul was a lot like sharing a bed with a Weeble Wobble. He weebles and wobbles but he doesn't fall down. In fact, he hits you back with twice the force. 

And then whine's about it the next day.

Of course, he wouldn't retaliate if Kid didn't hit him first, but the shinigami couldn't help himself. Sometime in the middle of the night Kid found a solution to his problem. He realized that, if he was holding something, he tended not to kick and punch so much.

This epiphany was reached when he woke up with his arms wrapped around Soul and no bruises in sight. The weapon seemed content to cuddle up to the shinigami, one of his arms draped across Kid's chest. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes to fall back asleep.

Now if only he could get Soul to stop drooling.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Soul slouched through the halls, his eyes half closed. He had been having such a nice sleep...

“Soul! Which rooms do you want to keep an eye on?” Black Star asked cheerfully, slapping the red-eyed weapon on the back. 

“Sleep.” Soul grunted, annoyed that his partner was so goddamn cheerful at four o'clock in the freaking morning.

“Nya ha!” Black Star yelled, pointing his finger in the air. “The Great Black Star doesn't need sleep!”

Soul just sent him a half-hearted glare, half his mind still asleep in his bed. Soul agreed to take the upper floors, leaving Black Star alone to do, well, whatever Black Star does. 

He'd been patrolling around the mansion for about fifteen minutes, yawning intermittently and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He took a moment to stop and stretch his tired muscles. 

Patrol duty was so _boring_. 

With a sigh he started forward again, his hands shoved in his pockets when he felt a sharp pain in the bottom of his foot. With a curse he stepped back, looking down at his foot. 

It was bleeding.

With a frown he glanced at the floor, noticing a shattered vase with a few wilted flowers laying forlornly on the floor. He vowed revenge on the idiot that didn't clean this mess up. 

Soul bent down, carefully keeping his weight off his injured foot, and began to shift the broken glass to the side so no one else would stab their damn foot. There was a creak of floorboards behind him and he paused, glancing over his shoulder to see who was coming. 

The hall was empty.

Soul blinked, squinting in the darkness. With a shrug he turned back to his task, carefully picking up a large piece and moving it up against the wall. A sudden thought occurred to him and he stiffened, thinking. 

_'What if this vase was knocked over while someone was being attacked?'_

The floor creaked behind him again and he stood up, turning around.

“...Black Star?” He called softly, taking a small step forward. 

All he had time to register was a whooshing sound behind him, pain, and then darkness.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid woke up when he heard the screaming.

Sitting up straight in his bed, eyes wide, the shinigami looked to his side, his heart skipping a beat when he realized Soul wasn't there. Then he remembered that the weapon was on patrol and he jumped out of the bed, rushing out the bedroom door.

He met up with Maka and Patti in the hallway, both of them wide awake and pale.

“It came from downstairs.” Liz's voice called out to them from down the hall and the group of four rushed down the stairs. The despairing howl sounded again and they moved faster. 

Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock and Mrs. White met them at the door to the swimming pool, all three of them still in their nightclothes and looking terrified.

“Move.” Kid demanded, shoving the Professor out of his way as he burst through the door. 

The swimming pool was one long rectangle in the middle of the room, the constant jets of water causing it to ripple and sparkle from the lights overhead. The tiles in the pool were a pale blue and the floor surrounding it was a miasma of different shades of blue. The walls were an off-white color with various sea-side portraits adorning them. There was a hot tub off to the right and what appeared to be the door to a sauna on the left. 

No one took any notice of these features. Everyone's eyes were on the two figures beside the pool.

Black Star was clutching Tsubaki's prone form, tears streaming down his face and mingling with the water dripping off Tsubaki's black hair. He howled in despair again, the sound echoing in the vast room. 

“No...” Kid heard Maka whimper as she stumbled forward towards Black Star and knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Kid stepped forward with Liz and Patti, carefully lifting Tsubaki's pale wrist and checking for a pulse he already knew wasn't there. The Thompson sisters were crouched next to Black Star and Maka, rubbing soothing circles on his back, tears threatening to slide down their cheeks. 

Mrs. White and the others shuffled into the room, Mrs. Peacock sobbing into the Professor's shoulder. Ms. Scarlet seemed to have made an appearance at some point, Kid noted, as she was standing next to Mrs. White.

“I tried...I tried CPR.” Black Star moaned, holding tightly to his weapon. “I was too late...too late.”

“Black Star.” Kid said, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his shoulders. “What happened?”

“I don't know!” The male ninja sobbed, looking directly at the shinigami. “I was patrolling. I came in here and she was just...just there, in the water.” He whimpered.

Kid's eyes widened. “Black Star.” He said urgently, shaking his shoulders slightly. “Where is Soul?”

Black Star looked around, his eyes wide. “I don't know, he was upstairs.”

The shinigami was up and moving before the ninja had finished speaking, Maka hot on his heels. He trusted the sisters to stay with Black Star to keep him company as he bounded up the stairs two at a time.

The hallways were still dark this early in the morning so he almost missed the dark lump laying on the floor in a shadowed corner of the house. 

“Maka, can you find a light?” Kid asked.

“Already on it.” The meister replied, flicking on a light on the nearby shelf. 

Soul was laying crumpled on the floor and Kid felt his heart stop at the blood pooled around him, dyeing the edges of his white hair crimson. There was a broken vase laying nearby, pieces of it shoved up against the wall. Kid stepped over the glass, reaching a shaking hand for the weapon's neck to check for a pulse he prayed was there.

“Kid?” Maka whimpered, waiting for his confirmation. She was pale and her eyes were red rimmed from holding back tears.

“He's alive.” The shinigami replied, relief obvious in he tone. 

Maka sank to her knees in relief, placing her hand on her weapon's leg. “Thank God.”

“Looks like he took a bad hit to the head.” Kid observed, examining Soul. There was a big gash near his left temple. 

“They say head wounds bleed profusely.” Maka supplied, checking Soul over for any other injuries. “Looks like he has a cut on his foot too. That's all though.”

Kid cradled Soul's head in his lap carefully. “Go ahead and head back to Black Star. He's going to need all the comfort we can give him. I'll watch Soul.”

Maka nodded, tears welling in her eyes at the mention of the male ninja. “I just...I can't believe she's gone.”

“...I know.” Kid replied, looking away.

Maka got up and headed down the hall, returning with a first aid kit before heading back to the swimming pool.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The first thing Soul registered was his gargantuan headache. The next thing he noticed was a pair of gentle hands wrapping something around his head. The weapon attempted to open his eyes, but the bright light that greeted him caused him to groan in pain and squeeze his eyes shut again. 

“Soul?” Came Kid's voice.

“Did you get the license plate of that truck?” Soul mumbled, raising his hand to his head. He could feel a bandage there and he tried to remember why he would need one.

“I need you to open your eyes so I can check for a concussion.” Kid demanded, shielding Soul's eyes from the glare of the light with his body.

The weapon groaned, letting the other man help him into a sitting position and prop him up against the wall. He slowly opened his eyes and let Kid shine a flashlight into them, causing them to water slightly.

“Looks like you may have a mild concussion, but nothing too bad.” The shinigami smiled slightly, his hand on Soul's thigh. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I was on patrol...Black Star was downstairs.” Soul frowned, sifting through his memories. “There was a broken vase and I was cleaning it up. I thought someone was behind me but after I turned around I was attacked from behind.”

Kid pondered this information. “You mean there might have been more than one person in this hallway with you?”

“Possibly.” Soul agreed, running his hand through his hair and grimacing at the dried blood he found there. “Where is everyone?”

Kid winced, looking away. “There...was another murder.”

“What?” Soul gasped, sitting up straighter against the wall. “Who was it?”

“...Tsubaki.”

Kid watched as Soul closed his eyes in despair before attempting to stand up, using the wall as support. He wobbled dangerously and the shinigami quickly stood up, putting the other man's arm over his shoulder. 

“Damn.” Soul muttered as they stopped in the doorway and he took in the sight there. “Dammit!” He suddenly cried out, slamming his foot into the wall, creating a hole in the plaster. Kid jumped back, not expecting the sudden outburst. Soul kicked the wall again, chunks of plaster crumbling to the floor. He started to slide down the wall but Kid caught him, pulling him upright. “Tsubaki...” The weapon whispered.

“Soul, pull it together.” Kid warned, turning the weapon to look at him. “Black Star needs your help and you can't do anything if you're as messed up as he is. I don't care what you might be telling yourself but it was not your fault. You can't be everywhere at once.”

Soul stared at Kid, an unspoken conversation passing between them. The weapon finally nodded, taking a deep breath and allowing the shinigami to help him into the room.

“Soul-kun what happened to you?” Ms. Scarlet crooned, latching onto his arm the moment he stepped past the threshold. 

Soul ignored her and made a beeline for his distressed comrade. Kid purposefully stomped on Ms. Scarlet's foot, causing her to yelp and let go of Soul's arm. 

“Black Star.” The weapon called softly, kneeling in front of the distraught meister.

“Soul...she's...I...” Black Star stuttered, unable to even string a sentence together.

“I know.” Soul replied and they looked at each other in unspoken understanding. “I swear, we will kill the asshole who did this to her.”

“How do we know you didn't do it?” Professor Plum demanded, his arms crossed. “You two were prowling the halls. We get here, someone is dead, and the only one who wasn't here was you, Soul.”

“He was attacked.” Kid growled, glaring at the Professor.

“So he says.” Plum scoffed and Mrs. Peacock nodded beside him. “A likely excuse.”

“Considering it was your date that was murdered, you don't seem too upset about it.” Soul replied scathingly, turning his red eyes on the Professor.

Professor Plum looked decidedly contrite. 

“Why were you sneaking around last night?” Mrs. White asked, looking worried.

“Some of us are trying to catch whoever is doing this to all of us.” Liz replied, sneering at them. “We thought we could patrol the halls and catch the killer.”

“A whole lot of help that was.” Mrs. Peacock muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“That's enough!” Soul yelled out, standing up. “In case you all haven't noticed, three people are now dead and we're all trapped in here with the killer. If you all could just pull your heads out of your asses and stop pointing fingers at everyone else, we can all work together to find out who is doing this.”

“Every time you point a finger, three are pointing back at you!” Patti chimed in behind him.

Ms. Scarlet scowled. “How are we supposed to figure out who is doing this? We can't plan anything without them finding out.” 

“Let's split everyone up into groups of two, that way someone is always watching someone else.” Maka suggested.

“Fine. Mrs. White you go with Mrs. Peacock. I'll go with Ms. Scarlet. Liz and Patti can team up, Maka and Black Star and Kid and Soul.” Professor Plum decided.

“Fine.” Soul glared, turning back to Black Star as the Clue characters left the room. “I know it's hard but you're going to have to let her go.” He said quietly, putting his hand on the other man's shoulder. “We'll give her a proper burial when we get out of here, I promise.”

Black Star nodded slowly, looking away. “I just need a few more moments.”

“No problem, meet us in the library when you're ready, okay?” Maka forced a smile, nodding to the others as they left the meister to his grief.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The mood in the library where the Shibusen group gathered was nothing short of somber. Tsubaki's absence was like a gaping chasm in the room, sucking out all thoughts of happiness. Black Star was uncharacteristically silent, staring out the window at the continuous snow storm outside. 

Kid had forced Soul to sit down when he almost collapsed on the way to the library. He was still recovering from the nasty blow to the head. The shinigami was smart enough not to listen to the weapon's continuous insistences that he was fine. 

“Let's go over the clues again.” Soul sighed, feeling another headache returning.

“We know the killer knew what the Colonel was allergic to. We also know that he or she had to be strong enough to kill Mr. Green. ...Tsubaki told us she heard a female voice speaking to Mr. Green shortly before his murder.” Kid supplied, ticking off the list in his head. “Soul and I believe that there is a possibility that two people are working together, based on his attack early this morning. This can be further corroborated by the fact that Tsubaki was drowned. She was, by no means, a weak person. We can assume that it may have taken two people to take her down.”

Everyone was silent, the mention of their fellow comrade casting a dark shadow over them once again. The only thing keeping the group going was vengeance.

“I bet it is the Professor and that floozy of a secretary.” Liz commented, frowning. “He would know what the Colonel was allergic to, the Professor is strong enough to kill Mr. Green after she lured him there, and the two of them together could have attacked Tsubaki. And to top it all off they're trying to pin it all on Soul.”

“It does fit.” Maka said slowly, nodding. “We should keep an eye on them.”

“In the mean time, we need to see if there is a weak point in the barrier trapping us here. In the beginning it was random people that we didn't know being attacked. Now...now it is personal.” Kid added, looking around at the others. “We are not immune. We must take precautions and watch out for each other.”

The others nodded solemnly.

The game was on.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“Lay down.”

“Kid! I can't-”

“It'll make you feel better, I'll be gentle.”

“Like hell you will! You're too big, there's no way you'll fit!”

“You're being stubborn, you know you want it.”

“A-ah! It hurts!”

Maka blushed crimson as she listened to the conversation going on on the other side of the door. A small trickle of blood ran down her nose and she quickly wiped it away as she tried to get her mind out of the gutter. What were those two doing in there?

“Kid, slow down, you're going too fast!”

“I can't...help it...Soul...”

Maka choked as she suddenly heard a low, muffled moan that sounded a lot like Soul coming from the other side of the door. Unable to stand it any longer, the meister pushed the door open, expecting...

Well, expecting something completely different than what she walked in on. 

The sight of Kid and Soul, both clad in only their boxers (or, in Kid's case, boxers and a shower cap), squished together in the tiny bathtub would stick with her forever. Kid was attempting to wash the blood out of Soul's hair while taking care not to get the bandage on his head too wet. The water in the tub was verging on overflowing, the bath bubbles almost all gone, a testament to how long they'd been in there. 

And was that a rubber duck?

“Um...” Maka mumbled, staring.

“Maka!” Soul yelped, attempting to get out of the bathtub only to slip and fall, the rubber ducky flying and almost hitting the female meister in the face. Kid managed to get out of the tub more gracefully and even managed to catch the weapon before he face-planted into the marble tiling.

Only to slip himself and to fall to the ground, bringing Soul down with him.

The weapon moaned in pain (Maka's gutter brain interpreted it a different way) from the abrupt motion as he lay on the floor with Kid on top of him, his arms on either side of Soul and their chests flushed together, dripping water all over the damn floor. Kid could feel Soul's breath on his cheek, their faces inches apart. 

“I'll leave you two alone, shall I?” Maka croaked, her hand covering her nose as she rushed out of the room. 

“What's her problem?” Soul asked, looking up at Kid.

“No idea.” Pause. “Your hair is lopsided. It's asymmetrical.”

“Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of chapter three. I'm sorry for killing you Tsubaki! Please don't hurt me! It needed to be done! I also apologize for the fact that my chapters are steadily getting shorter. I just write until I feel like it is a good spot to stop. 
> 
> You know, I would pay good money to see Kid and Soul, barely clothed, squished in a bathtub together. And the rubber ducky too, don't forget that! 
> 
> I like to think of Maka being a closet yaoi/shonen-ai/slash fangirl. It amuses me. I bet you Shinigami-sama is one too.
> 
> I'll shut up now.


	4. Chapter 4

Mrs. White was dead by morning.

Maka and Black Star found her in the kitchen, laying on the floor with blood _everywhere_. She was covered in multiple stab wounds, a knife lying discarded on the floor. A few bloody footprints trailed towards one of the kitchen doors. A message was left on the wall, written with her blood: 

_The pawns will fall one by one_   
_Until all that's left is none_   
_Open your eyes and you will see_   
_That all is not as it seems to be_

“What...what kind of sick, twisted game is this?” Ms. Scarlet whispered once the corpse had been removed. 

“Why weren't you with her?” Maka asked Mrs. Peacock. “We were supposed to stick with our partners.” 

“I-I was asleep! She must have left to get a glass of milk or something!” Mrs. Peacock cried, tears streaming down her face. 

“I've had enough of this. It's obvious who is behind all this!” Professor Plum announced, looking around at everyone in the room. “Soul was always breaking the rules. Father and mother were disappointed with him. They weren't going to give him the inheritance so he's taking it for himself! Isn't it obvious? He can't be trust-”

BAM!

“Go Kid, go Kid!” Patti squealed, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down.

Professor Plum's eyes were wide as he looked up at the shinigami towering above him. Kid's knuckles were bruised but he continued to stand there, glaring at the man before him.

“I dare you to say one more word.” He hissed, narrowing his eyes.

“That's enough!” Maka demanded, standing between the shinigami and the Professor. “So far, none of our plans to stop this psycho have worked. We need to stick together, no one leaves without someone with them. During the day, we all stay together in one room. At night, you stick with a partner.”

“But-” Ms. Scarlet began but Maka cut her off.

“This is your _life_ at stake here! If you have to go to the bathroom, get a glass of water, _anything_ in the middle of the night you will wake up your partner and make them come with you. Is that understood?”

“So long as all of us are together, there's no way they can kill one of us without someone else seeing something.” Black Star agreed. 

“Alright, let's stay in the ballroom.” Soul said, carefully picking up the bloodied knife on the floor and leaving the room, sending the Professor a glare as he left. Ms. Scarlet helped Plum up and the rest of them followed the weapon.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“Onee-san, this is boring!” Patti whispered loudly, bouncing around behind her sister and unknowingly flashing everyone within the vicinity.

Patti obviously wasn't used to wearing a dress.

Liz sighed, shoving some paper and crayons at her sister to hold her attention. Patti squealed and began coloring various animals. The older Thompson sister really hated babysitting duty sometimes.

Ms. Scarlet, Professor Plum and Mrs. Peacock were gathered in the far corner, whispering to each other and occasionally glancing over their shoulders at the others. 

Kid, Soul, Maka and Black Star were huddled around the bloodied knife, the four of them scouring every inch of it for clues.

“Go over again how you found Mrs. White.” Kid requested, turning his yellow eyes on his fellow meisters.

“Black Star and I had woken up early. After the...incident yesterday, neither of us had slept very well.” Maka began, wringing her hands nervously. “We were planning on making coffee for everyone else when they woke up so we headed for the kitchen.”

“We could hear something in the kitchen as we got closer.” Black Star continued, frowning. “It was...a gurgling noise. We quickened our pace and burst through the door but we were too late.”

“The other door into the kitchen was still swinging, as though someone else had been in there and left in a hurry. We both tried to find the person but we didn't want to split up and give the killer another opportunity to attack.” Maka finished.

“We shouldn't have rushed.” Black Star said remorsefully. “Maybe they wouldn't have heard us coming.”

“It's understandable. You wanted to save her.” Soul replied, examining the knife. “We all would have done the same thing.” He paused, frowning at the knife. “What's that there?”

“Where?” Kid asked, leaning over his shoulder.

“Right here.” Soul answered, pointing at a tiny engraving on the handle of the knife. The group of them leaned in, squinting. 

“It looks like...a symbol.” Maka said, tilting her head slightly. “No way!” She exclaimed suddenly, jerking her head up and hitting Black Star in the chin. 

“What?” Soul asked, watching as Maka apologized profusely to the ninja meister. 

“It's Shinigami-sama's symbol.” Maka replied once Black Star had calmed down. “See? It's the same shape as the mask he usually wears.”

The rest of them looked back at the symbol, frowning. 

“Why would the murderer have a knife with Shinigami-sama's mark on it?” Black Star asked, looking at the others. The meister had dark bags under his eyes. Soul wondered if he'd ever return to his usual outlandish self.

“The message on the wall.” Liz answered, surprising everyone with her sudden appearance. “It said that _'all is not as it seems to be'_. Maybe...maybe this isn't about the inheritance at all. Maybe this is revenge against Shinigami-sama.”

“These people don't know who Shinigami-sama is.” Soul pointed out. _'Or maybe it's something else entirely.'_ A tiny tendril of a thought niggled at the back of his mind.

Everyone was silent.

“Well, it looks like that's the only clue this knife is going to give us.” Kid sighed, putting the knife down. “Black Star, Maka and Patti, can I get you three to check out those footprints in the kitchen?”

“We're on it.” Black Star said, jumping up. His eagerness to catch the killer was infectious. They left the room and Kid motioned to the remaining Shibusen members to follow him as they headed towards the group huddled in the corner.

“Where are those three going? I thought we were supposed to stick together?” Professor Plum asked, watching the others disappear into the kitchen.

“They are investigating the footprints left behind by the killer.” Kid replied neutrally.

“I'll go join them then.” Professor Plum stated, standing up. “Who knows what they might be up to in there.”

He headed towards the kitchen.

“Nice black eye.” Soul jibed, his smirk showing off his pointy teeth.

Professor Plum glared at the weapon. It was hard to look threatening when one eye is swollen closed, but he tried. With a huff he turned on his heel and entered the kitchen.

Today was going to be a long day.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

After everyone had a chance to inspect the footprints and the knife (everyone except Ms. Scarlet who couldn't stand the blood), they all took a break in the ballroom for lunch.

“The footprints are too smeared to get a good look.” Maka sighed, stirring her cup of coffee. “They had an odd shape to them.”

“Well at least now we know the killer left in a hurry. This is our one chance to get clues they may not have meant to leave behind.” Kid replied, carefully slicing his sandwich into perfectly symmetrical triangles. 

“I don't think they meant to leave the knife behind.” Black Star supplied, wrinkling his nose at the taste of the coffee and adding several spoonfuls of sugar to it before drinking it in one gulp. 

“We'll just have to scour the whole area after lunch.” Ms. Scarlet nodded, sipping her drink. “...Is there any salad?”

“Yeah, I'll go get it.” Soul grunted, getting up. Kid joined him in the kitchen, unwilling to leave anyone alone in the house. They stepped carefully over the footprints, Mrs. White's body had been removed and placed with all the others in the abandoned room. 

“Soul...” Kid began, nervously.

“Yeah?” Soul muttered, opening the fridge and rifling around for the salad. He placed it on the counter before searching the cupboards for something to serve it with. Kid's hand grabbed the weapon's wrist, stalling his movements. Soul turned towards the shinigami, a questioning look in his eyes.

“There's something I need to tell you.” Kid said quietly, stepping closer to the other man.

Soul stepped back, practically sitting on the counter. Kid had this look in his eyes that caused Soul's heartbeat to race. He swallowed reflexively, licking his lips. “And that is?”

Kid hesitated for a moment as though unsure if he should continue. He was so close to the weapon, standing between his open legs as Soul leaned back against the counter. 

“I'd rather show you.”

Kid leaned forward, one arm braced on the cupboard above Soul's head, the other on the counter, still holding the weapon's wrist. 

Soul held his breath, sure that his pounding heart would burst out of his chest. He moved his free arm back along the counter to brace himself, knocking over a small bottle sitting there and causing it to rattle loudly and roll onto the floor. 

Kid jerked back, the moment broken. He moved back near the small kitchen table, looking everywhere but at Soul.

The weapon sighed before glaring at the object that had ruined the moment. Grumbling obscenities under his breath, he grabbed the salad before bending down and picking up the white bottle, trying to remember if it had been there previously when they were examining the bloody footprints.

Kid was trying to calm himself down, wondering what had gotten into him. He glanced at Soul who was reading the bottle. Blushing profusely, the shinigami looked away, the wall suddenly becoming very interesting indeed. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud crashing noise as Soul dropped the bowl holding the salad, his eyes wide.

“What-?” Kid began, stepping forward.

“Shit!” Soul cried out, stepping over the broken salad bowl on the floor and rushing out of the kitchen, back into the ballroom. Kid blinked and ran after him.

Everyone was where they'd left them, sipping coffee and eating sandwiches in tense silence. They all looked up as Soul blasted into the room, the white bottle clutched in his hand.

“STOP!” He yelled, causing everyone to jump.

“What's the meaning of this?” Mrs. Peacock asked, looking startled.

“I don't feel so good...” Black Star said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. 

“What's wrong? Stomach ache?” Maka asked from beside him.

Black Star opened his mouth to reply and blood suddenly poured out of his mouth. He slumped forward, his hand clutching his chest as he began to cough up blood. Ms. Scarlet and Mrs. Peacock screamed as the meister slid to the floor, shivering and continuing to cough up his blood. He convulsed once before suddenly falling still.

It was over in less than a minute. 

“Oh God...” Liz whispered, looking green. 

“W-what _was_ that?” Ms. Scarlet whimpered, clutching onto the Professor.

“Arsenic.” Soul responded quietly, holding up the bottle. 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Soul and Maka walked down the hall, eyes scanning for any signs of life other than themselves. No one was sleeping tonight, they were going to try and catch the killer in action. Black Star's death gave them a feeling of urgency, unwilling to lose any more friends. They'd split up, Kid with the sisters and Soul with Maka. Kid had seemed unwilling to be alone with Soul ever since the incident in the kitchen, much to the weapon's annoyance. 

“So...how's it going with Kid?” Maka asked, as though reading his mind. 

“It's fine.” Soul replied shortly, opening one of the abandoned rooms and peeking inside.

“Doesn't seem fine, you're grumpy.” Maka smiled knowingly. “You don't like being separated from the one you love, hm?”

Soul twitched violently. “I don't love him.”

“Sure you don't.” Maka grinned, opening another door and poking her head inside. 

They continued on in silence, checking all the rooms over and over again, listening for any odd sounds or movements. Soul's thoughts kept drifting to the shinigami, wondering if he was okay and pondering over the situation in the kitchen. Just when Soul thought she'd let the subject drop, Maka spoke up again.

“You're thinking about him right now aren't you?”

“I'm not...I just...shut up!” Soul spluttered as Maka laughed at the expression on his face.

“Busted.”

“You...” Soul started, his fingers itching to strangle his meister. He didn't get to finish his sentence as he heard a shuffling sound around the corner. Maka and Soul froze, looking at each other. They crept forward silently, poking their heads around the corner and squinting in the darkness. 

“Where are they now?” Ms. Scarlet's voice whispered, her dark form shifting uncomfortably.

“They're downstairs. Mrs. Peacock is sound asleep and my dear brother is sneaking around up here with your girlfriend.” Professor Plum's voice replied just as quietly. “We should move on before they find us.”

The two shadowy forms moved forward down the hall, heading towards the stairs. Maka and Soul nodded to each other before quietly following at a safe distance.

Ms. Scarlet and the Professor split up at the bottom of the stairs and the Professor slipped into the library. Maka and Soul hesitated before splitting up, the female meister following Ms. Scarlet, and Soul looping around to enter the library through a different door via the study.

Was this the moment they'd been waiting for?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid sighed in frustration. He'd hung back for a moment to tweak a lopsided picture frame and had managed to lose the Thompson sisters in the process. 

You'd think they'd be used to his random OCD moments by now. 

Soul would have hung back to laugh at him. 

Kid knew he was avoiding the weapon and he was sure that the other man knew it. It was just that, when he was around Soul, he couldn't think straight. His body would act of it's own accord and it was mildly unsettling. He wasn't used to feeling this way about anyone and he just needed some time to decide whether it was a good thing or not.

Maybe his heart would stop pounding whenever Soul was near.

“Patti? Liz?” He called out, rounding a corner and squinting in the darkness. _'Where did those two go?'_

He was just passing the door to the library when it shot open and a hand darted out, pulling the startled shinigami into the room and closing the door behind him.

Someone shoved Kid up against the wall and the shinigami winced as he was slammed into a picture frame, the back of his head shattering the glass. He kicked out at his assailant, his foot connecting with the attacker's shin. He heard a grunt of pain before something cold and metallic was shoved up against Kid's throat, choking him. 

“I'm not going to let you and your boyfriend kill any more people.” Professor Plum snarled, pressing a lead pipe harder into Kid's throat. The shinigami struggled, his vision getting darker.

“I'll be fine with just you.” Came Soul's furious voice. 

A fist lashed out, punching the Professor in the face and knocking him over, causing him to let go of Kid. The shinigami sank to the floor, gasping for breath and clutching his throat. Plum recovered quickly, swinging the lead pipe at the scythe weapon, blood trickling down his obviously broken nose. 

Soul dodged the attack, a feral grin on his face. The Professor lunged again wildly and the weapon ducked, plunging an elbow into his assailants abdomen. Plum stumbled backwards, falling into a bookshelf and toppling it over, books flying everywhere. Soul stalked after him, pulling him up by the collar of his shirt. 

“We've killed more monsters than you can count.” He hissed, his red eyes boring into the Professor's brown ones. “But we haven't even attempted to murder anyone here. Which is more than I can say for you.” With that, he slammed the Professor into the floor. Plum did not get up again.

“Kid!” Soul called, rushing over to the shinigami. 

“Soul.” Kid answered breathlessly, still recovering from his near asphyxiation. “Thanks.”

“Just doing my job.” Soul smirked, helping the shinigami to stand. “Where's Liz and Pa-” The weapon was cut off as a book came flying out of nowhere, striking him in the side of the head where he had been hit the day before. Soul grunted in pain, falling to the floor.

Kid dodged another book the Professor sent flying in his direction, kicking a small table and causing it to slide forward, hitting Plum in the side and knocking him over. Kid vaulted over the table and landed next to his assailant, kicking the Professor in the side as he attempted to get back up again. 

“Stay down.” He said coldly.

“Fuck you.” Plum spat, smashing Kid's shins with the lead pipe. 

The shinigami stumbled backwards. Plum lunged up, attempting to hit Kid in the head with the pipe but the other man blocked it with his arm. A sharp, searing pain jolted Kid's appendage, causing him to cry out. He held his place, grabbing the weapon with his other hand and tossing it aside, kneeing the Professor in the stomach. Plum doubled over in pain and the shinigami shuto chopped the carotid sinus in the Professor's neck, causing him to fall unconscious. 

“Fuck.” He heard Soul swear and the scythe weapon stumbled over to Kid. “Are you okay?”

“I believe my arm might be broken, but I will live.” Kid replied, looking at Soul. “You?”

“Heh,” Soul smirked, glancing at the shinigami. “My head is used to getting hit with books.”

Kid smiled. “I imagine so.”

He let Soul gently poke and prod at his arm, checking it over. “It doesn't look like it's broken.” Soul announced after awhile. “But you probably shouldn't be using it to ninja chop anyone for awhile.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

Soul walked over to a lamp that had fallen to the floor during the fight. He ripped out the cord and used it to bind the Professor's hands. “They set this up, we should go make sure Liz, Patti and Maka are okay. I'm worried about what Ms. Scarlet was up to.”

Kid nodded but before they could leave the room the three girls burst through the door, fists raised and ready for a fight. Kid and Soul blinked simultaneously, the shinigami from his position by the bookshelves and Soul from his position sitting on top of Plum. 

“What...are you two okay?” Maka stammered, taking in the mess that used to be the library.

Soul got up off the Professor. “Just a mild misunderstanding is all.” He said casually, kicking some books out of his way. “Where's Ms. Scarlet?”

“Right here.” Liz said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder and pointing to the tied up lump behind her.

“Ahe hehehe she was trying to be sneaky, sneaky!” Patti giggled, poking Ms. Scarlet on the cheek. 

“Alright, let's lock 'em up.” Liz grinned.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was decided that Professor Plum and Ms. Scarlet were to be locked in separate rooms. They would not be allowed out unless absolutely necessary and even then they were to be watched carefully at all times. Mrs. Peacock was startled by the story of what happened, having managed to sleep through it all. 

Soul wouldn't have been surprised if she had been drugged.

Maka called him paranoid.

The Shibusen group were dead on their feet. None of them had slept well after Tsubaki's death and with Black Star's passing causing them to patrol the halls at night, they'd been awake for well over 48 hours. 

After they locked up their 'prisoners', Mrs. Peacock and Maka had made breakfast. 

The six of them sat in the lounge while they ate, a roaring fire blazing in the fireplace. Kid munched on his toast, nursing his arm. A large and ugly bruise had already started to appear on it and he knew it was going to be a thorn in his side for the next couple of days. Luckily, being a shinigami, he healed faster than most people.

Soul was sitting beside him on the love seat, fast asleep with his head propped up on Kid's shoulder. He was drooling on Kid's suit, but he ignored it, enjoying the comforting warmth radiating from the weapon beside him. Maka was giving them a fond smile and Liz was wiggling her eyebrows at the shinigami suggestively. 

Kid decided to ignore them all.

Soul needed some rest.

“We'll take turns sleeping.” Maka suggested quietly. “We can't keep going on without sleep.”

The others readily agreed.

Kid stayed with the sleeping Soul in the lounge as the others left to inspect the kitchen, leaving the shinigami to examine the bottle of arsenic. The poison came in the form of dissoluble tablets. They apparently weren't completely tasteless, which would explain the look on the male meister's face when he drank the coffee.

The shinigami sighed, running his hand over his face tiredly. To lose two comrades in as many days...

_'How many more will die before we find the killer?'_ He couldn't help but think.

Kid glanced at Soul out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know what he would do if he lost the man beside him. Somehow the weapon had made himself a necessity in Kid's life. Their secret musical rendezvous had escalated into regular coffee outings and lunch engagements. Suddenly he was spending more time with Soul than his own weapons!

Did Soul feel the same way about him?

He found himself desperately hoping so. 

Soul mumbled quietly in his sleep, his hand reached out as though trying to grab something and he latched onto Kid's shirt with a happy sigh. The shinigami blushed, trying to get his mind focused back on the bottle in his hand. 

It was difficult.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Maka walked into the lounge, intent on making sure that Kid got some sleep too. She stopped in the doorway, blinking at the sight before her.

Soul's head was still on Kid's shoulder but the shinigami's head was resting on Soul's, both of them fast asleep. Both of their hands were entwined together, and the weapon's arm that was not pressed up against the shinigami was gripping the other man's shirt. Soul was still drooling slightly and Kid was lightly snoring.

“They're so kawaii!” Patti whispered behind Maka, giggling.

“They'll figure it out eventually.” Maka agreed. “Go ahead and stay with Liz and Mrs. Peacock, I'll watch over these two.”

Maka decided that, if there was one good thing to come out of this, she hoped it would be the two young men's happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of chapter 4! I made a goal for myself this chapter. It was to make sure that it would be longer than the last one.
> 
> I failed miserably.
> 
> I promise the next one will be quite long, there's a lot about to happen! Even though I hate killing people off, it makes it so much easier for me to keep track of all the characters. Does that make me evil?
> 
> R.I.P
> 
> Black Star
> 
> You're godliness will be missed.


	5. Chapter 5

Ms. Scarlet was whining by morning.

“You can't keep a lady locked up in a tiny room!” She shouted, pounding on the door. “I demand you let me out!”

“I dunno, you didn't say please.” Soul replied casually, his hands in his pockets as he stood outside her door with Maka. 

“You-you insolent...!” Ms. Scarlet spluttered, seemingly unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Now she's insulting us.” Maka said with mock disdain.

“The nerve of some people.”

“I told you I was sorry!” The woman shrieked, banging on the door again. “It was all _his_ idea! I didn't think you were a murderer, Soul- _kun_.”

“Ah, I see you're back to liking me again. As pleasant as this conversation is, what do you _really_ want?”

Silence.

“I'm almost out of toilet paper.” Came the sullen reply from the other side of the door.

“It all makes sense now.” Maka said sagely, unable to hold back a smile. “Maybe if you're nice we'll get you some.”

Ms. Scarlet's wail followed them down the hallway.

“Do you think we're being too harsh?” The female meister asked, glancing at her partner as they headed downstairs.

“...Nah.” He said dismissively, stepping into the lounge to meet with the others.

“What did the princess want?” Liz drawled as they entered, filing her nails in the corner of the room. 

“Nothing important.” Soul replied, flopping down onto one of the armchairs. “She wants toilet paper.”

“You know, I can't help but point out that there haven't been any more murders since we locked those two up.” Mrs. Peacock said.

“That's true.” Kid nodded, sipping his soup. “It's still not definite yet. We shouldn't let our guards down.”

“The kitchen is almost empty, we're running out of food and supplies.” Maka said, looking to Mrs. Peacock. “Is there anywhere we can get more food considering this stupid storm is still going on?”

Mrs. Peacock paused, thinking. “There might be some more food in the cellar. They treat it more like a pantry and storage area than anything else. The electricity breaker is located there too.”

“Let's go check it out after we give the princess her stupid toilet paper.” Liz said, getting up from her chair and beckoning Patti forward. “You guys okay here?” 

“Yeah.” Soul grunted.

“Let's go Patti, Maka.”

Patti bounced forward, Liz trailing after her and Maka following the two of them.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Mrs. Peacock was snoring.

Soul turned to glare at her, annoyed. “Can I-”

“No.” Kid interrupted.

“You don't even know what I was going to say.”

“I'm sure it involved some sort of bodily harm to Mrs. Peacock.”

“...”

“I thought so.”

Soul sighed, thumping his head on the armrest. They were going around in circles again. He didn't ever want to see a knife and a bottle of arsenic ever again.

“It's time to take the Professor and Ms. Scarlet their food.” Kid said, breaking the silence.

“What should we do about Mrs. Snoresalot?”

Kid hesitated. “I guess we could lock her in here, she should be safe for the few minutes we're gone.”

Soul nodded, getting up and following Kid out of the room, locking it behind him as he did so. They headed to the kitchen, heating up some soup for their 'prisoners' and adding a packet of crackers. They placed the dishes onto separate trays before making their way up the stairs carefully, trying not to spill the soup.

Kid placed his tray down in the hallway as Soul kicked Ms. Scarlet's door loudly.

“Make sure you're presentable, we're coming in.” He grunted, standing aside so Kid could unlock the door. Ms. Scarlet was sitting at the back of the room, reading a book. 

Soul was surprised she even knew how to read.

“Finally, I'm _starving_!” She whined, placing her book down. Soul placed the tray on her bed and stepped back by the door with Kid. “How much longer am I going to be stuck in here?”

“Until you stop whining.” Soul said, preparing to shut the door. “So basically, never.”

He slammed the door.

Kid smirked slightly as he locked the door, looking over at Soul.

“If you're not careful she's going to stab you with a spoon.” 

“I'd like to see her try.” Soul scoffed, moving over to the door where the Professor was stationed. “Oi, douchebag, we're coming in!” He unlocked the door, preparing himself for an attack.

Soul opened the door slowly, muscles tense as Kid edged in behind him. 

The room was empty.

“What?” Soul frowned, looking in the closet and under the bed as Kid checked the bathroom. 

“Looks like he found himself a lock pick.” The shinigami sighed, pointing to the doorknob, tiny little scratches marring it's bronze surface. “We should warn the others.”

Soul and Kid quickly headed down the stairs, almost running into a frantic Liz at the bottom. 

“Kid!” Liz yelled, grabbing his arm. “Come, quick!”

“What happened?” Kid asked as Liz began to practically drag the shinigami towards the cellar.

“Maka was sorting through everything in the cellar and Patti and I left to go and find some boxes to carry all the goods in so we would only have to make one trip.” Liz babbled as they made it to the door to the cellar. “When we got back she was trapped in there!”

“Soul!” Maka called from the other side of the door, a tiny little barred window being the only view into the room beyond. It even had a little piece that you could slide in front of the window, blocking the view inside.

The cellar door was made of heavy iron, it looked almost like it belonged to a dungeon of some sort. Soul grabbed the door handle, trying to pull it open but it didn't budge. Kid and Liz quickly ran off to find a crowbar to pry the door open.

“How do you always manage to get yourself into these situations?” Soul sighed, frowning.

Maka's scared green eyes were framed in the window, her face slightly pale. “I didn't do it, someone closed the door on me!”

“What do you mean?” Soul asked, his heart beat speeding up. Was it the Professor?

“I had put a cinder block in front of the door so it wouldn't close on me.” Maka sighed, looking around. “By the time I heard someone behind me the door was almost closed. I couldn't see outside, the little window was shut, but I heard them shuffling around outside for a few moments.”

“Don't worry, we'll get you out.” Soul assured her as he and Patti leaned forward, inspecting the door.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Maka's voice called out. “Soul?”

“Yeah?”

“It smells like gas.”

Soul jerked up, staring through the heavy iron door. “What?”

“Soul, there's a gas line in here!” Maka cried, panicked.

“Don't worry, so long as there isn't a spark nothing should-” Soul stopped, eyes wide. A memory was lurking at the edge of his awareness, making him pause.

_“Wonderful fireplace isn't it?” Mrs. Peacock asked, watching Soul. “They're those new electric ones, you know. Turn themselves on at certain times of the day. This one usually starts around 12:00 in the afternoon.”_

Soul felt his face pale. He looked at his watch. 11:50.

_Mrs. Peacock paused, thinking. “There might be some more food in the cellar. They treat it more like a pantry and storage area than anything else. The electricity breaker is located there too.”_

“Patti! Go get Mrs. Peacock, maybe she knows of another way in here! Quickly!” He yelled, tossing the maid some keys before turning back to the door and running his hands along it frantically.

The maid nodded, rushing down the hallway. 

“Soul?” Maka's nervous voice asked from the doorway, hands gripping the little bars on the tiny window. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, you'll be fine.” Soul said a little too quickly, checking the hinges. His heart skipped a beat when he realized the door was somehow crudely welded shut. “No...”

He glanced at his watch again. 11:56.

The weapon swore, kicking the door. 

“Soul, we found a crowbar!” Liz called, running up with Kid on her heels. 

“What's wrong?” Kid asked, taking in Soul's pale face.

“The room is flooding with gas.” The weapon replied, snatching the crowbar and attempting to pry the door open. It wasn't budging.

Kid processed this information. His eyes widened as he came to the same conclusion as the scythe weapon and he rushed forwards, trying to help Soul save his meister's life.

“What's going on?” Mrs. Peacock and Patti had arrived.

“Is there _any_ other way into this cellar?” Soul asked, grabbing the woman by the shoulders.

“I...no I don't think so. The room is surrounded by solid rock, there's no way out but the door.”

Soul swore again, pushing at the door helplessly.

“Soul...” Maka called quietly, drawing her weapon's attention. “I'm stuck aren't I?”

Soul was silent, staring at her green eyes in anguish.

Maka nodded slowly, tears welling in her eyes as she took a slow, calming breath. “Alright. Soul, listen to me.” She said sternly, drawing Soul's eyes to her. “You did the best you could-”

“No! Don't...don't.” Soul yelled, slamming the crowbar into the door repeatedly. It barely dented it.

Kid glanced at a clock on the nearby wall. 11:58.

“Soul! Listen!” Maka yelled. “It's not your fault, don't you dare say it's your fault! Any of you!” She added, looking at the others. “Find the bastard that's doing this, okay?”

“Maka...”

“Do it.” Maka demanded, tears streaming down her eyes. “I know you can.”

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

The grandfather clock was chiming the afternoon alarm.

“Maka!” Soul yelled grabbing the bars. Maka gave him a wobbly smile as a tiny spark raced from the breaker and the cellar erupted in flames.

Liz screamed, jumping back as flames shot out of the little window in the door, Kid pulling Soul out of the way just in time.

Maka's screams were torture to hear, her level of pain immeasurable.

Soul roared, yanking himself out of the shinigami's hold and slamming his fists on the door, burning them. He tried the door handle and smoke seared from his hands as they burned, the smell of overcooked meat causing everyone to gag.

It took Kid, Liz and Patti to pull Soul back again as Maka's screams stopped abruptly, the sound of the roaring flames loud in her sudden silence.

“Let me go! Maka!” Soul screamed, fighting to break free of the hold the others had on him.

“It's too late, Soul. She's gone.” Kid choked, trying to hold back his own tears. 

“No! Maka!” Soul yelled in anguish, ripping his one arm free of the sisters and punching Kid in the face. The shinigami grunted but refused to let go, even with the blood trickling down his face.

The stone walls made it difficult for the flames to spread, causing them to begin to die down without any more oxygen or fuel to keep them going. Kid guessed the gas that was leaking through was nearly empty. 

Soul sagged to the ground, no longer fighting to break free. Kid held him closely, wrapping his arms around him as the weapon turned towards him, burying his face in the shinigami's shoulder, wracking sobs causing his body to shudder.

Mrs. Peacock, looking horrified, left and returned with a fire extinguisher, handing it to Liz.

Patti was staring at the door in terror, unable to move from her spot.

Once the flames had died down sufficiently, Liz attempted to open the door, careful to protect her hands from it's hot surface. It took both Liz and Patti kicking at it a few times for it to finally fall, the heat from the flames melting the shoddy welding and weakening it. The older Thompson sister attacked the flames with a vengeance, spraying the whole room in white foam. 

There was nothing left inside but some ash and debris. Maka's body wasn't even discernible in the wreckage. 

Soul's sobs had stopped but he was still clutching onto Kid as though his life depended on it, seemingly oblivious to the burns on his hands.

There was a shuffling noise down the hall and Professor Plum appeared, Ms. Scarlet behind him. Liz and Patti moved to stand between them and their friends, the older sister wielding the fire extinguisher like a weapon. 

“What happened?” Ms. Scarlet asked, staring wide-eyed at the open door to the cellar.

“As if you didn't know.” Liz snarled, brandishing the fire extinguisher. 

“We don't know anything, we just wanted to get out of our cells and get a bit of freedom.” Professor Plum stated, stepping forward. “Where's Maka?”

Soul stiffened, lifting his head from Kid's shoulder slowly, his eyes flickering dangerously in the dim lighting of the hallway. Plum took a step back at the demonic look in his crimson eyes.

The weapon stood up slowly, swaying almost drunkenly. He was still holding the crowbar in one hand, the blood from his burns smearing the cold metal. Soul stepped around Kid, never once taking his eyes off the Professor. 

“Soul?” Kid asked cautiously, standing up. 

“You fucking bastard.” The scythe weapon snarled, taking slow and deliberate steps towards Plum, the crowbar dragging along the floor with each step, blood trailing on the carpet behind it. 

Liz looked scared and even Patti seemed uncertain, watching as the weapon stalked closer and closer to the pair down the hall.

“We didn't do anything!” Ms. Scarlet cried, backing away from Soul's demonic form. 

“Soul.” Kid commanded, loudly. The weapon paused briefly before continuing onwards, only a few steps away from the Professor.

“I swear to you.” Plum said slowly, raising his hands in compliance, his voice slightly off due to his broken nose. He and Ms. Scarlet were backed up against a wall, trapped. “We didn't do anything, I have no idea what's going on!”

“Bullshit.” Soul snapped, his voice deadly cold as he stopped a few feet away. “You trapped her in there and left her to die. I just want to return the favor.”

Ms. Scarlet screamed as the scythe weapon lunged ahead, crowbar raised.

Kid darted forward, shoving Soul sideways and causing the crowbar to sink into the wall, inches away from the Professor's pale face. The scythe weapon crashed into the wall, his shoulder puncturing a hole in the plaster. Kid held him there, a hand on the wall on either side of Soul's face, his yellow eyes imploring the weapon to calm down. 

“Kid. Move.” 

“No, you need to calm down.”

“Goddammit!” Soul yelled, trying to push the shinigami off him. “Fuck off!”

“No.” Kid replied calmly, holding his ground. “You're not yourself.”

“I don't care! Maka's dead, don't you get it!?” Soul cried out, anguish in his eyes. “She was my only family and now she's gone!”

“You're wrong!” Kid yelled back, the sudden raise in volume startling the weapon into noticing the hurt in the shinigami's eyes. “We're your family too.”

Soul paused in his struggle, eyes wide. As though coming out of a dream, he realized Kid's nose was bleeding and he had a black eye, testament to Soul hitting him earlier. Liz and Patti were standing behind Kid, looking scared but hopeful. Soul raised his hand slowly, running a finger along the edge of the bruise on the shinigami's face, causing Kid to wince.

“I'm sorry.” Soul said brokenly, closing his eyes.

“Don't ever think you're alone.” Kid replied quietly, putting his forehead on Soul's. “Not as long as I'm here.” 

And then he kissed him. 

Soul stiffened in surprise, his brain seemed to be short circuiting as Kid's soft lips pressed into his. He stood there motionlessly, unable to think, unable to move.

Kid pulled back quickly, looking nervous and slightly hurt when Soul didn't kiss him back. “I'm sorry. I-I thought...” He trailed off, looking away.

Soul blinked, his brain catching up with what was happening. He grabbed a fistful of the shinigami's shirt, ignoring the stinging in his hands as he pulled Kid forward, pressing their lips together again.

The shinigami made a small noise of surprise before pressing forward eagerly, deepening the kiss slightly.

“As much as I'm glad this is finally happening, now is really not the time.” Liz interrupted, still holding on to the fire extinguisher.

Kid sighed internally and ended the kiss, giving Soul a small smile. He supposed the older Thompson sister was right, Soul was still too broken to be thinking properly. He stepped back, one hand still on the other man's arm.

“Alright, everyone to the lounge.”

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“I want to know what you were doing after you escaped your room.” Kid asked an hour after the incident, pacing in front of Professor Plum and Ms. Scarlet. 

The two 'prisoner's' were squished together on the love seat. Patti was standing on the left and Liz on the right, both of them glaring at the two between them, daring them to attempt an escape. Mrs. Peacock was standing by the door and Soul was sitting in an armchair, the palms of his hands were carefully wrapped in bandages, his fingers left free.

He hadn't said a word since the kiss.

Kid hoped he wasn't regretting it.

“I told you, you have the wrong people.” Professor Plum said slowly as though speaking to a 5-year-old. “I don't think it's fair that we were locked up. So I escaped.”

“That doesn't answer my question.” 

“After I escaped I hid in the room across the hall. After you two left I freed Ms. Scarlet and the two of us headed downstairs. Honestly, we were trying to get to the cellar for the wine.” Professor Plum glanced at Ms. Scarlet. “If you were going to hold us hostage we at least wanted to be drunk while you did it. When we got close we could hear someone in the hall. They threw something into one of the rooms and quickly left. When we went to investigate we found a welding torch-”

Kid stopped pacing. “You found what?”

“A welding torch!” Ms. Scarlet replied, nervously. “We didn't know why someone would need something like that. Of course, we know now.”

“Did you see who put it in there?” Kid asked, staring at them intently.

“All we saw was-”

The lights went out.

There was some startled oaths and Ms. Scarlet screamed. Kid bumped into a side table in his attempt to find his footing. The lamp on the table fell over, smashing on the floor. The room was pitch black and Kid felt his other senses heighten, every little sound suddenly louder to his ears. Footsteps were running in every direction, disorienting him. There was a crash to his right, he heard a scream from the next room over, signifying that at least one person had left the lounge.

“I'm scared.” He heard Ms. Scarlet whisper, presumably to the Professor.

“No one move!” He called out, reaching blindly for Soul's armchair and finding the weapon's hand instead. Soul grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers together, anchoring him. 

No one else was listening. 

“The fire must have damaged the electricity! We need to find the back-up generator!” Mrs. Peacock's muffled voice rambled. Kid wasn't sure she was even in the same room.

BANG!

The gunshot reverberated around the house. There was a muffled thud and then silence. 

“Shit.” He heard Soul whisper, his hand clenching onto the shinigami's so they wouldn't lose each other. 

“We need to move.” Kid replied, ducking down and groping blindly in front of himself so as not to bump into anything. “It's a free-for-all now, this is the killer's chance to finish us all off.”

Kid tried to picture a mental map of the layout of the mansion as he attempted to lead them to the library. He hoped they could find a flashlight, candles, anything that could give them some light. Running footsteps thudded above them, muffled crashes and screams sounded down the the hall. Kid hoped Liz and Patti were okay. The two sisters had survived on the streets, surely they would be fine in this situation?

They made it to what Kid hoped was the library, the bookshelves and armchairs confirming his mental map. He pulled Soul behind the small couch in the library, the two of them sitting side-by-side in the darkness, their hands still clasped together. Kid could feel the rough texture of the bandages around the other man's hands. He tried to pull himself together mentally.

“This is bad.” He whispered causing Soul's hand to twitch slightly but not let go. 

“Here's the plan.” Soul replied, shifting beside the shinigami. “We need to find Liz and Patti and then we need to stick together until the killer comes after us. Then we kill them. Simple as pie.”

“It's not that simple.” Kid sighed, running his free hand down his face. 

“Of course, before we can find Liz and Patti we need to find a flashlight or something.”

“Right.” Kid paused, turning to look at Soul and seeing only darkness. “Are you okay?”

The shinigami was sure that Soul knew he wasn't asking about injuries. Sure enough, the weapon stiffened slightly but then relaxed. 

“I can't avenge the others if I'm wallowing in remorse.” He said, his voice taking on a hint of iciness. “I will have to mourn for them later, right now I just don't want to lose anyone else.” He paused. “Especially you.”

Kid nodded and then, realizing that Soul couldn't see him, quietly replied “I wouldn't want to lose you either.” 

They sat in silence for awhile. The mansion creaked and groaned around them, keeping them tense and alert for any sign that they weren't the only ones in the library. Nothing else could be heard since the gunshot rang through the building. After what felt like ages, Soul poked the shinigami in the arm, catching his attention.

“We need to find some light.” The weapon whispered, standing up and pulling Kid with him.

The shinigami slowly moved forward, inching along the wall. He bumped into a table somewhere, knocking over a stack of books on top. The two of them froze, listening. When nothing jumped out at them they continued on in agonizing slowness. 

Kid was sure they should be nearing the door if his mental map was correct and he walked forward faster, intent on moving on. He stumbled over something soft and fell to the ground, bringing a startled Soul with him. He groaned as the other man landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. 

After a moment Soul spoke up. “I think I've lost my mind, just so you know. I'm crazy.”

Kid blinked in the darkness. “I-what-why?”

“Because, I can't see a damn thing, we're trapped in this goddamn mansion with a killer who has murdered most of my friends that were like family to me. I could die at any moment and I'm pretty sure we're lying on top of a dead body.” Soul listed off. Kid could picture him ticking off his fingers as he spoke. “And yet, all I can think about is how much I want to kiss you right now.”

Kid smiled slightly, relieved that Soul didn't regret their earlier kiss. Then he brought himself back down to reality. 

“Now isn't really the time...” He said slowly, shifting as he tried to move whatever he was laying on (was it really a dead body?) out from under him. It was difficult with Soul on top of of him, but he managed. “Not that I would mind exactly-”

Kid was cut off as he was pulled forward and silenced by a pair of lips descending on his. They were slightly off to the side, testament to the pitch darkness in the room. The shinigami quickly shifted his head to the side so their lips were perfectly aligned, opening his mouth somewhat and probing the other man's with his tongue. Soul's mouth answered his, their tongues colliding. The scythe weapon tasted sweet with a hint of bitterness, similar to dark chocolate. 

Soul shifted slightly on top of Kid so he was straddling him, their chests pressed together, the weapon practically lying on top of the other man. Kid buried one hand in the scythe weapon's hair, the other on Soul's back, causing his shirt to ride up. They kissed hungrily, almost frantically, Soul's bandaged hand propping himself up on one side, the other clutching the collar of the shinigami's shirt. Kid moaned loudly when Soul sucked on his lower lip causing the shinigami to buck his hips slightly. The scythe weapon groaned as their groins pressed together, sparks of pleasure shooting up their spines.

There were footsteps in the hall. 

They had almost forgotten they were in danger.

They sprang apart, the two of them separated as they both scrambled to find a spot to hide. Kid groped his way around a bookshelf and he heard Soul shuffling in the distance before the room was silent. The shinigami's heart was racing a mile a minute and he wasn't sure if it was because someone was coming or because of Soul. 

Perhaps a mixture of both, he decided.

To make matters worse, he most definitely had a hard on and he had to will himself to calm down. Now was not the time.

And was his shirt missing a button? Soul was the type to do that just to spite him; his OCD issues always amused the other man.

The door to the library creaked open slowly. Footsteps shuffled inside, the door closing with a quiet click. Ms. Scarlet was illuminated by a small tea light, the flame flickering and casting shadows on her face. She was breathing heavily, almost bordering on hyperventilating. There was a soft thud as she tripped over the same thing that Kid did, the candle slipping from her fingers and extinguishing itself on the floor. He could hear her shuffling around before the light returned as she struck a match. She lit the candle again and inspected the lump on the floor from where she sat. Suddenly she let out a loud, ear-piercing scream.

Kid stepped forward but Soul beat him to her. The weapon lunged from under a desk and slapped his hand over her mouth, silencing her.

“Shut up!” He hissed, staring into her wide, brown eyes. “Do you want the killer to find us?”

Ms. Scarlet quietly shook her head and Soul let her go.

The flames were reflected in his red ones as he looked over at the lump on the floor. Mrs. Peacock's body was pale, a wrench shoved down her throat, suffocating her. Her eyes were bulging out and her bloated face was an ugly mix of blue and purple. There was still partially wet saliva trailing from her mouth. It was a grisly sight.

Ms. Scarlet whimpered.

“This is bad.” Soul said quietly, glancing up at Kid. “When this light runs out we're going to be sitting ducks.”

“I know.” Kid sighed, crouching down to look at Mrs. Peacock's corpse. “Ms. Scarlet, what happened to you after the lights went out?”

“I was with the Professor.” She mumbled morosely, her eyes darting all around the room. “He pulled me out of the lounge and upstairs. We hid in one of the bedrooms for quite some time. When we heard someone come inside the two of us ended up separated when we made our escape. I don't know what happened to him!”

Kid felt like his stomach had dropped down to his knees. If the Professor was with Ms. Scarlet, and Mrs. Peacock was killed with the wrench, then that meant that either Liz or Patti had been involved with the gunshot earlier. 

Soul placed his hand on Kid's shoulder, soothing him.

“Where did you find this candle?” Soul asked, taking over for Kid.

“I found it in the bathroom in one of the bedrooms.” Ms. Scarlet replied, wringing her hands nervously. “It was the only one. I found the matches in there too. There's only two more left.”

They sat in silence, the flame flickering feebly in the darkness. Their one lifeline. A corpse between them, a killer around them and nowhere to hide.

The killer's game had only just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I suppose I'll end it here. I was planning on writing more but once again this spot seemed appropriate.
> 
> For those of you who might be wondering on Soul's extreme reaction to Maka's death, I really do think of them as a really close brother/sister relationship (with Soul as the older, over-protective brother). I think most people would react badly to their sibling dying in such a terrible way.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter? Things are going to be coming to an end soon. I don't think I've given enough clues as to who the killer is, but I don't think it's very important at this point. I don't know if the hints are too subtle since I'm the one writing it and it seems obvious to me. We'll have to see, I suppose.
> 
> R.I.P  
> Maka Albarn
> 
> Honestly, I'm so sorry that you're gone. I'll miss your Maka Chops.


	6. Chapter 6

The three of them moved over to a table, the candle and extra matches in the middle lighting up their faces. Kid was holding onto the leg of a chair, the wooden stump a feeble attempt at a weapon. Soul was holding onto the lead pipe that had been left behind after the library fiasco. Ms. Scarlet clutched one of her heeled shoes, the stiletto possibly the most dangerous weapon in their arsenal. 

It was freakishly pointy.

Soul wished the woman wasn't with them. Even now he didn't trust her one bit. She was someone that was true to no one but herself. 

And her screaming got on his nerves.

“Ms. Scarlet, before the lights went out you were talking about the welding torch. What did you see when you checked out the room?” Soul asked suddenly, remembering their earlier conversation.

“What?” Ms. Scarlet replied, distracted. “I-oh. Well...” She hesitated. “It's crazy, it doesn't make sense...”

Soul frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it's just that...no, no there was nothing.”

This woman was exasperating.

The tea light was barely alight now, the wick burned almost to the bottom. Soon they would be plunged in darkness again. They had searched the entire library as carefully and as thoroughly as was possible with such meager lighting and had had no success. If they wanted to find more light they would have to leave their sanctuary. 

Soul sighed, standing up. They couldn't hide in here forever. Ms. Scarlet seemed unwilling to talk and if they wanted to find Liz and Patti (hopefully alive) and kill the murderer, then it was time to move. 

That, and Mrs. Peacock was starting to smell.

Kid, who had been very quiet since he learned that one of the sisters could possibly be dead (perhaps even both of them by now), stood up as well.

“W-where are we going?” Ms. Scarlet stuttered, watching them.

“We're moving on, there's a killer out there and we're not going to sit here and wait to die.” Soul replied, hefting his lead pipe and picking up the extra matches. “You're welcome to stay here alone in the dark when the candle goes out.”

With that, Soul grabbed Kid's hand and moved towards the door. Ms. Scarlet scrambled up behind them and followed just as the candle flickered out. 

Darkness swallowed them whole once more.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Soul wanted to check the bottom floors first. He was sure that if anyone had been shot then it had happened downstairs. He wanted to see for himself if the Thompson sisters were gone. 

They walked in a line, Soul in front, Kid in the middle and Ms. Scarlet trailing behind, each of them holding on to the person in front of them. The scythe weapon had his hand on the wall, walking slowly so as to make sure he didn't knock anything over. 

They checked the lounge, the ballroom and the kitchen with no success. Soul found another candle in the conservatory and he immediately lit it with a match. They moved forward again, searching, watching, listening for anything at all. There was a moment of uncertainty when they thought they heard someone behind them but there was nothing there. 

They found Patti's corpse in the billiards room. She was laying on her side, almost as though she was sleeping. Her eyes were half open, staring unseeingly ahead, her blond hair splayed out around her. There was a small bullet wound on the side of her head, a trail of blood marring the pristine floor. 

Kid crouched down next to her silently, closing her eyelids tenderly with his fingers. Soul left him alone to mourn as he and Ms. Scarlet searched the room. They found a bag full of tea lights and a small lighter. Soul shoved his pockets full of the diminutive candles before lighting one of them. The murder weapon could not be found in the room. 

The scythe weapon grabbed a blanket from the nearby shelf and returned to his partner. Kid was on his knees, leaning forward and covering his face with both hands. He was silent but his shaking shoulders could not hide the fact that he was crying. Soul offered the only assistance he could by covering up the corpse with the blanket and wrapping his arms around the other man. 

Nothing was said. Words were not needed by this point. 

Ms. Scarlet stood awkwardly off to the side, looking away to give them some privacy as Kid held on to Soul. 

Once the shinigami had pulled himself together again, his hand gripping Soul's almost painfully, the group made for the door. 

There was a deafening thud above them causing the group to jump back and hide. Kid and Soul crouched underneath the pool table and put out their candle. The scythe had no idea where Ms. Scarlet was hiding, the woman had dropped her candle on the ground as she ran. They listened to the constant thudding noise above them, eyes wide, hearts pounding. Soul kept a tight grip on Kid's hand, refusing to lose him in the semi-darkness.

The thudding stopped, the sudden silence startling. They stayed hidden, listening. The floor creaked above them as someone walked around upstairs. There was a scraping noise, as though someone was dragging something heavy behind them. Soul clutched onto his lead pipe with his free hand and he could hear Kid grip his weapon. 

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Someone was coming down the stairs. 

The two of them held their breaths as the scraping noise echoed down the hall outside the door, the floorboards creaking with every step. It stopped outside their door, trying the doorknob. 

Soul was never so grateful for lockable doors than he was now.

“Shit. Move!” He whispered to Kid, pulling him out from under the pool table and lighting his candle. Once lit he picked up his lead pipe and motioned for Kid to follow him. He quickly ran for the other door in the room, the one that led to the foyer. The person on the other side of the other door was pounding on it, attempting to kick it down.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Soul muttered, reaching the door just as a loud crash signified the entrance of the intruder. There was a shattering gunshot sound once more and Soul ducked, a bullet whipping inches past his head. 

Kid and Soul burst through the door and into the foyer, both of them nearly tumbling to the ground. Ms. Scarlet was screaming behind them before being abruptly cut off. The two young men ran even faster. They could hear someone behind them and Soul ducked behind a small statue, cursing as a chip of it was shot off. He couldn't see where he was going, the light from the candle barely showing two feet ahead. The killer stopped shooting suddenly and he glanced over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the elusive murderer. 

There was a shadowy figure behind them, it's silhouette holding what appeared to be a flashlight and a...blow pipe?

Kid suddenly pulled Soul to the side, barely saving him from running into the wall. Soul turned back to look ahead as he heard the shinigami groan in pain beside him. Had he been shot? 

They ended up in the study and Soul immediately began to cover both the doors with furniture and other heavy items.

“Ms. Scarlet...” Kid whispered, helping Soul cover the doors.

“She's probably a goner.”

“Right...” The shinigami replied quietly, slowly lowering himself to the floor. 

“Did you get hit?” Soul asked nervously, scanning his body for injuries.

His red eyes widened when he noticed the dart sticking out of Kid's arm. It was the type used by animal control to subdue wild and vicious animals. Soul was sure it wasn't filled with sleeping solution.

“Holy water.” Kid groaned, slumping forward and gripping Soul's arm tightly.

Soul sighed, running his hand down his face. Holy water has various effects depending on how it is consumed. It has no effect on regular humans, a mild effect on weapons (Soul's one instance of being poisoned by it resulted in five days of stomach cramps and diarrhea) and, with the right amount of dosage, is deadly for shinigami's.

Shinigami's, being death gods, are a part of the demon family. Demons have adverse reactions to holy water. In small amounts it is mildly irritating. Larger amounts splashed on the outside of the body result in burning sensations and peeling skin. If injected in the blood stream it can cause hallucinations, convulsions and mental issues. It is fatal if a antidote is not given within certain time periods.

A shinigami as strong as Kid would probably last roughly one hour before fully succumbing to the madness and dying in excruciating pain by burning on the inside. 

This didn't leave Soul very much time to find an antidote.

Of course, there is more than one antidote he could use, but most of them are extremely rare and difficult to obtain unless fully trained. Soul could only think of one option that would be available to him. 

There is a certain body part, when consumed by a shinigami, that can cure the poison in mere minutes.

Luckily for Soul, this house had quite a few corpses that wouldn't mind parting with their body parts. He'd just have to get around the murderer, dragging a deranged and dying shinigami with him and take what was needed to save Kid's life.

Simple.

Normally, Soul would just leave the shinigami and try and get what he needed as fast as possible. However, he was loathe to leave Kid alone and helpless should the killer make a return. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he turned back to the shinigami.

“Are you sure it's holy water?”

“Yes.” Kid replied, squinting at Soul.

The scythe took a calming breath, wondering how much more stress he could take before he cracked. “Alright. C'mon, we need to find a cure.”

Kid didn't reply, he just remained sitting on the floor, his whole body shaking slightly. Running away from the killer probably hadn't helped. The holy water would have just moved swiftly through his bloodstream as his heart pumped faster. Cursing under his breath Soul looked around the room. He grabbed a pair of scissors he found in a drawer and shoved them in his pocket with the candles. He eyed the furniture covering the door. 

“Why the hell did you help me cover the door when you knew you'd been hit you dumbass?” Soul muttered, starting to push the furniture and other objects away from one of the doors. He hadn't heard anything since they'd escaped, he assumed the killer was biding his or her time, waiting for Kid to die so that they could take out Soul.

The scythe weapon suddenly paused.

Why would the killer be shooting holy water? Unless they _knew_ the effect it would have on them? If that was true then it meant that the killer...

_'Well...that's not good.'_

He finished moving the furniture and stood listening at the door. Kid was sitting where he'd left him, rubbing his hands up and down his arms and looking around the dark room. 

Hearing nothing outside the scythe weapon returned to Kid's side, pulling the shinigami up and draping his arm across his shoulders. He abandoned his candle, opting instead for the lead pipe. He'd just have to be careful in his travels. He moved on, carefully opening the door and slinking through the hall as silently as he could with Kid draped over him.

“Soul.” Kid whispered after awhile.

“What?”

“They're here.”

Soul stiffened, looking around. He couldn't see very well but he was sure no one else was nearby. “Where?”

“Here, under my skin.” The shinigami whispered, eyes wide, pupils dilated as he scratched at the skin on his arms, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. 

Soul glanced at Kid's arms, small cuts bleeding slightly from the amount of scratching the shinigami was doing. 

“They're moving, underneath. It hurts.” Kid whispered, moving to pick at his arm. “Get them out.”

“Stop that.” Soul hissed, stalling his movements. Had the madness started already? It was progressing faster than he had anticipated. “There's nothing under your skin.” He moved forward more quickly, intent on getting to his destination as rapidly as possible. He didn't want to go back to the billiards room, afraid that the killer might still be there (and unwilling to defile Patti's corpse). He headed instead back to the library where Mrs. Peacock lay. 

He ducked into a corner when he thought he heard something down the hall but nothing appeared and he resumed his journey. He was practically dragging the shinigami behind him and, although Soul was pretty strong, he was tired, hungry and not his usual self. 

He quietly entered the library, gently letting Kid slump against the wall. He lit a candle and held it carefully, looking around the room for the corpse.

It wasn't there.

He frowned, checking the entire room with one of the little tea lights. Mrs. Peacock was nowhere to be found. Soul stopped, running a bandaged hand through his hair. Had someone moved her in their time away? But why would they?

There was a dull thunk by the door and Soul could see the outline of Kid slumped on the floor, convulsing. He ran forward, moving everything out of the way so the shinigami wouldn't hit anything and hurt himself. A small tendril of blood leaked from Kid's nose and onto the floor. He was muttering something although not in any language Soul could understand. The seizure lasted about forty seconds before he suddenly stilled. 

Soul knelt down next to Kid, helping him sit up. The shinigami was staring wide-eyed all around the room. 

“Soul? What's going on?”

“You've been hit with holy water, remember?” Soul said nervously, checking Kid over for injuries.

The shinigami looked up at Soul and flinched, jerking away. To him, Soul's face looked like it was melting off, the eyes drooping, glops of skin oozing onto the floor. He blinked and it was gone, Soul's worried red eyes staring back at him. 

“C'mon, let's go.” Soul said quietly, trying to pretend he didn't just see Kid look at him in fear. He helped the shinigami up once more and they continued on, heading towards the stairs. Mrs. Peacock must have been moved to the room with all the others. It was the only explanation.

Soul continued on, Kid getting more and more difficult to drag along. The shinigami was scratching at his face now, muttering to himself. They were forced to pause as Kid vomited blood onto the floor, gagging. The stairs were a strain on Soul's body, hefting the other man up each step, his muscles protesting and his body crying for rest. Kid was getting colder and colder in his arms and Soul quickened his pace. He wasn't sure he could take much more of this.

“The light.” Kid mumbled pointing behind Soul.

Soul looked in the direction he indicated, but he couldn't see anything. 

“There's nothing there.” He sighed, trying to pull Kid forward again. 

“They don't like the light.” Kid continued, scratching at his arms again. “Get them out. Get them out. Get them out.”

The scythe weapon hesitated.

“They're biting and tearing, poking and prodding.” Kid singsonged, swaying his head back and forth. “Take a knife and cut me open, pull them out and sew me shut again. It's not very hard. Be careful though, I don't want a scar.”

The scythe weapon shuddered slightly and continued on. 

Soul stopped in front of the little out-of-the-way door in the corner of the house and listened for any sign of life on the other side. He pushed the door open, expecting a waft of decay to reach his nose. When none came he opened the door wider and looked inside.

It was empty.

He didn't have much time left before he would lose Kid and he was panicking now.

He left the shinigami by the door and quickly checked the other rooms nearby, hoping that maybe he had gotten the wrong one. 

Nothing.

Something was wrong here. The bodies were gone, Kid was dying and he was running out of time. Resigning himself to his fate he returned to the shinigami and hefted him up once more. Kid wasn't moving now, he seemed to be unconscious.

At least he hoped he was just unconscious.

He pulled the shinigami into one of the bathrooms and closed the door, locking it. He left Kid propped up against the bathtub. Soul pushed a shelf in front of the door for further protection before pulling a couple of the candles out of his pocket and lighting them, bathing the room in an orange glow. Soul frantically searched through the mirror cabinet, knocking over bottles before finally pulling out pain killers. He checked under the sink and was relieved to find a small first aid kit there. 

Bringing his supplies over to the shinigami, Soul sat down next to him and checked him over. Kid was sweating slightly, he brows scrunched up in pain. His pulse was erratic and the weapon could feel his own heart speed up in fear.

Soul pulled the scissors out of his pocket and snapped the two pieces apart so he only had one blade. He wiped it down with an antibacterial cloth he found in the first aid kit. The scythe weapon swallowed a couple of pain killers quickly before washing his hands. He paused and looked at himself in the mirror, his pale face shadowed and haunted. 

He would not allow the killer to take anyone else away from him. Not if he could help it. Especially not Kid.

He could see the shinigami's reflection in the mirror. Soul took a few deep, calming breaths. 

He would not let Kid die.

He raised the blade to his right eye. He held the eyelid open and brought a shaking hand to his eye slowly, carefully. Sharp, shooting pain rocketed through his head as the blade cut into him. He swore loudly, dropping the blade into the sink, drops of blood splattering with it.

It hurt.

He looked into the mirror, blood trailing down his face, his eyes still intact. Kid groaned in pain behind him, his whole body shaking as though he were shivering from the cold.

Soul resolutely shoved a small hand towel into his mouth to quiet his screams as he picked up the blade again and brought a steady hand to his face. He cried out in pain, the sound muffled by the cloth as he cut quickly, the dull scissor blade awkward for the precision needed. Blood streamed down his face, dripping into the sink and he groaned as the eye separated from it's socket with a squelching noise. A clear, jello-like substance dribbled onto his hand from where he had nicked the eyeball. 

He could barely concentrate as he stumbled sideways, the pain unbearable. He fell to his knees next to Kid, sharp, jarring pain shooting up his legs. He tilted the shinigami's head back and dropped the eyeball into his mouth, closing it and holding it shut along with his nose. Kid thrashed at the intrusion but eventually was forced to swallow the revolting object. Soul might be one of the few weapons that actually liked the taste of souls, but even he felt sick.

He just hoped it would be enough.

He wasn't sure if he could go through that a second time.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid's whole body ached. It felt like he had been ripped apart and whoever had put him back together had done a crappy job of it. He opened his yellow eyes slowly, first taking in the sink in front of him, the room flickering in an orange glow. He looked to his left, the door to the bathroom was covered by a large shelf with various towels and other essentials stacked on it. 

He could hear shaky breathing to his right and he looked over. Soul was slumped against the wall, head tilted down, his violently shaking hands trying to open a packet of antibacterial wipes and failing miserably. 

“Welcome back to hell, starshine.” The weapon grunted sarcastically through gritted teeth as he continued in his pursuit of the elusive wipe. “Looks like it worked pretty fast.”

“What?” Kid asked dumbly, rubbing his eyes. His mouth tasted funny, like he hadn't brushed his teeth in days. He looked back at Soul and gasped. 

Blood was dripping from his face as he stared down at the packet in his hands, the steady drip, drip, drip slicking his hands red and causing a small pool of crimson to accumulate. Kid crawled forwards, reaching out.

“Fuck.” Soul swore as he dropped the packet, his shaking hands unable to hold onto it anymore. 

“Stop, let me do it. What happened?” Kid asked as he quickly grabbed the packet and ripped it open, pulling out the cloth and grabbing Soul's chin. He tilted the weapon's face up towards the light.

He stiffened when he saw the damage. 

“One little eye for your life? I think it was a small price to pay.” Soul replied shakily, looking at the shinigami with his good eye, a small, brave smile on his face. “Hurt like a bitch though.” 

And with that he promptly passed out. 

Kid caught him as he slumped sideways and put him gently on the floor. He couldn't believe that Soul had done something so horrific to himself for the shinigami. 

He would really have to speak with the other man about his self-sacrificing attitude. There were plenty of other corpses in the house to use, right? He grimaced suddenly, realizing that he must have been poisoned with holy water which meant that he had _eaten_ Soul's eye. 

Gross.

Feeling vaguely sick, he used the antibacterial wipe to clean around the gaping wound. He would have preferred to dowse it in the liquid, but it didn't look like the first aid kit had any. He covered the wound with a non-stick bandage before wrapping it in place with gauze. The old head injury from a few days ago was somewhat healed. It probably needed stitches so he wrapped it up with clean bandages as well.

Kid still wasn't feeling so great himself. He must have been close to succumbing to the poison when Soul saved him. He sighed and grabbed a towel, folding it up carefully (and symmetrically) and putting it under the weapon's head for cushioning. Kid noticed his own arms were covered in deep scratches, dried blood clotting the wounds. He quickly bandaged himself up, wondering what had caused such an injury. 

Soul was pale, specks of blood a stark contrast to his clammy skin. Kid was sure that he himself didn't look much better. This whole situation was wearing them down.

He sat in silence for awhile as he tried to remember what had happened while he was poisoned, but the memories were a blur of pain and insanity with brief periods of lucidity. He leaned back against the bathtub, running his hand down his face. Soul needed a doctor and Kid could do nothing more to help him.

He wondered if Soul felt this trapped when Kid was poisoned.

The weapon groaned beside him and the shinigami quickly moved over to him. Soul shuddered slightly before opening his good eye.

“Welcome back.” Kid said quietly, smiling sadly at the scythe weapon.

“Couldn't keep me away.” Soul replied sarcastically, trying to sit up. 

The shinigami reached over and helped him sit up again, leaning him against the cupboard beneath the sink. Soul reached up and patted the bandaging around his eye, wincing. 

“How do you feel?” Kid asked, lighting another candle from Soul's pocket and extinguishing another so that it could cool down and be used again. 

“Just peachy.”

“Why didn't you take it from someone else?” Kid asked suddenly, staring intently at Soul, leaning forwards.

“There was no one else to take it from. All the corpses are gone.” Soul replied, grabbing the bottle of pain killers and dry swallowing a few more. His hands were much more steady now. 

“Gone?” 

“I dragged your crazy ass all over this house. I looked for Mrs. Peacock and the other corpses that were supposed to be in that room in the corner, but there was nothing. I was afraid to go back to where we left Ms. Scarlet just in case the killer was still there.” Soul sighed, looking straight at Kid's yellow eyes with his good one. “I was running out of time. I wasn't about to let you die, I care about you too much-” He stopped, blushing slightly and looking away.

Kid felt his face heat up as well. He stared at the embarrassed man in front of him in wonder. Soul had ripped out his own eye to save the shinigami's life.

It was at that moment that Kid knew for certain that he was hopelessly and helplessly in love with Soul Eater Evans. 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Soul hurt. A lot. His eye (or eye socket, he supposed, since the eye was technically gone) was burning painfully. The pain killers took off the edge but they weren't strong enough for an injury such as this. 

He still felt it was worth it.

The two of them had sat in silence after Soul's inadvertent declaration of love for the shinigami. The scythe weapon was embarrassed, he wasn't the type to blurt such things out like that. He decided to blame the pain killers.

Yeah.

Soul decided to ponder all that he had learned while Kid was out of it. Whoever shot Kid had known he was a shinigami. That left only one person who was possibly still alive who could of done it. But Soul couldn't picture Liz killing any of them, least of all her own sister. Unless she was being controlled by someone? He supposed that was a good possibility. Maybe the witches were controlling her.

And then there was the fact that the Professor and possibly Ms. Scarlet were still out there as well. Soul wasn't about to rule out the possibility of either of them being the killer (although it seemed unlikely that Ms. Scarlet had done it). They would need to see if they could find them, alive or dead.

And if it really turned out that it was Liz, they'd decide what to do from there.

“Kid, we need to-”

He was cut off by the shinigami kissing him. 

Soul was startled by the unexpected display of affection. Not that he minded of course. He kissed back, opening his mouth immediately as their tongues collided. Kid had crawled forward and he was now practically in Soul's lap, his legs resting on either side of the scythe weapon's. The shinigami trailed kisses down Soul's neck, biting and lapping at his skin. The weapon moaned, tilting his head back and pulling Kid closer, running his hand down the other man's chest and then under his shirt. 

Buttons were undone as shirts were removed, their mouths meeting once more. Soul sucked on Kid's lower lip, eliciting a loud moan from the shinigami. The scythe weapon smiled internally, filing the motion away for later use. Kid's hand was running through Soul's hair, the shinigami careful so as not to bump his injuries. Their hips were pressed together and Soul couldn't help but grind into the other man, the friction causing waves of pleasure to assault his senses.

Kid ran his hand down Soul's chest before cupping his groin, causing the weapon to jerk at the sudden, sharp pleasure at the touch. Soul moaned as the shinigami rubbed him slowly as his tongue assaulted the weapon's mouth. The scythe weapon felt helpless as waves of pleasure kept him writhing and bucking into Kid's hand, his injuries forgotten in the passion. 

Maybe that was the shinigami's plan all along. 

“Oh God...Kid...” Soul groaned as the shinigami picked up the pace, removing his hand so they could grind themselves together. 

They climaxed together, Kid breathing out the weapon's name and Soul feeling the burning pleasure start from his toes and shoot all throughout his body. They were both breathing heavily as they sat back, their hands clasped together, content. 

“What were you going to say?” Kid asked.

Soul's brain felt sluggish. It took him a moment to gather himself together to form a coherent sentence. “I...uh...was just about to say we should go.”

“Right.”

They continued to sit there in companionable silence, unwilling to leave.

“Kid.” Soul began, turning to look at the shinigami. “That was...” He trailed off, unable to find words to properly express how he felt.

“Worth doing again sometime?” Kid finished with a slight smirk. 

Soul blushed crimson and looked away. “Definitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, done! I hope you, ahem, enjoyed that last little bit. I don't know where it came from, my perverted fangirl mind just started writing it all of a sudden. I hope that it's not too bad? Like I said before, I'm not so great at writing scenes like this, but I tried my best!
> 
> We're almost done now, maybe two more chapters, I'm not sure. It would be nice to end it on Kid's favorite number eight, hm?
> 
> Let me know your thoughts with a review! It's much appreciated!
> 
> R.I.P
> 
> Patti Thompson
> 
> I'll miss your giraffe creations! T.T


	7. Chapter 7

The two of them left the bathroom quietly after they cleaned themselves up. Each of them was holding a candle and a weapon. Soul was carrying the blade he had used earlier, having left his lead pipe behind after the poisoning, and Kid had some hairspray and the lighter. 

“We need to check the whole mansion.” Soul said quietly, peeking around a corner. “Those bodies disappeared somewhere, we need to find out where. And we need to see if anyone else is alive.”

“Right.” Kid replied, keeping an eye for any attacks from the rear. “Liz might still be out there too.”

Soul paused. “Yeah.” 

He hadn't mentioned to the shinigami his suspicions over the older Thompson sister. Either Kid hadn't thought twice about the holy water or, more likely, he didn't want to admit to himself that it could be her. Soul was also afraid to say anything in case he was wrong. He, perhaps stupidly, didn't want the shinigami to be mad at him. 

He wondered if he'd regret this decision.

They began to systematically check each and every room of the house. They had to take frequent breaks, Kid was still feeling weak from his near death experience and Soul was finding it harder and harder to stay upright, let alone move forward. The fact that neither of them had slept or eaten in quite awhile didn't help matters either. 

When they got to the kitchen they took a break to eat some stale bread and drink water from the sink. It was too dark to attempt anything else, especially considering they couldn't cook anything anyway. Soul had no idea how long it had been since the power went out. It felt like ages but he guessed it had been more than a day, at least.

“I just...I need to sit down.” The scythe weapon muttered quietly, finding a chair and sliding onto it. He was feeling dizzy.

“It's fine, you've lost a lot of blood.” Kid replied, sitting down across from Soul. 

The weapon could feel his worried gaze, even if he couldn't see it that well. The pain killers were starting to wear off and every step they took caused a shooting pain to reverberate from his right eye. He felt like crap.

“I feel like crap.”

“You look like crap too.”

“Gee, thanks.” Soul replied sarcastically. He blinked his good eye when Kid pushed some pain killers across the table between them. “...Thanks.” He said again, this time sincerely. “I'd be lost without you.”

“Hm, that would explain your crazy actions since I'd be dead without you.”

“Yep, need to keep you around, if only for amusement sake.” Soul smirked, swallowing some pills.

“Even your smile is lopsided. I don't know how I put up with you.” Kid sighed, blowing out his candle and replacing it with a new one. 

“Because you love me.” Soul teased, half-jokingly.

“I do.” Kid said seriously.

The scythe weapon stared at the other man silently for a moment, his red eye intense. 

“Me too.” He said quietly, a faint blush tinting his cheeks pink. 

Kid thought it was cute. “You love yourself?”

“I-what? No! That's not...I hate you.” 

“No you don't.”

Soul growled, turning away from the shinigami and causing the other man to chuckle quietly. Sometimes Kid infuriated him with his stupid symmetry, his obsessive cleanliness and his goddamn folded toilet paper.

But he still loved him.

He really must be crazy or something.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

They found Ms. Scarlet's corpse back in the billiards room. She looked like she had been beaten with something. Kid found a baseball bat with blood on it. They assumed it had been used to bludgeon the woman to death. Her head was smashed in, her face almost unrecognizable. Various bones in her body appeared broken, her limbs twisted in unnatural angles. 

Patti's body had mysteriously disappeared just like all the others. All that was left to indicate she had even been there was a small amount of blood smeared on the floor and the blanket Soul had covered her with.

“Well I can't say I'll miss her, but no one deserves to die that way.” Soul muttered, looking away from Ms. Scarlet's corpse. He took the blanket and covered her with it.

“And now we're down to four.” Kid nodded, looking over at the weapon. “We should move on.”

The two of them continued checking all the rooms on the bottom floor. Nothing else could be found. They headed upstairs, their weapons at the ready. There was a good chance the killer was upstairs, unless they somehow missed them in their search below. 

Each room they found empty increased the tension. They took less breaks, afraid to stay in one place for too long. When Soul could finally take it no longer and slumped against the wall, Kid checked him over. 

“Looks like you're getting a fever.” The shinigami deduced nervously. He changed the weapon's bandaging once more from the medical supplies he kept in his pocket. “You need to rest.”

“There's no time, we need to end this tonight.” Soul replied impatiently. 

Kid sighed, nodding unwillingly. “Let me scout ahead, you rest.”

The shinigami moved ahead, letting Soul sit on the floor and lean up against the wall. The weapon felt vaguely sick, like the room was way too cold but he was sweating. He could see the light from Kid's candle bobbing up and down a little ways ahead. 

There was a crash and the wall in front of him exploded outwards, covering him in plaster and dust, his candle extinguishing from the blast. He scrambled to the side in the darkness as the whole house shook violently. He thought he could hear Kid yelling something. Soul looked down the hall where the shinigami had been but he could only see pieces of broken furniture, dust and a shadowy figure.

“Kid?” He coughed, looking towards it as he pulled himself up carefully.

A faint click was his only warning and he threw himself to the side, the bullet that shot his way missing him by inches. He crouched down in the dust, grabbing a piece of wood on the floor and throwing it at his assailant. He heard a grunt of pain behind him as he ran for it, the dust in the air helping to camouflage his movements. Soul couldn't see much of anything as he stumbled forwards, almost crawling. 

He darted into one of the bedrooms, closing the door behind him. He could hear footsteps running after him down the hall and he launched himself into the closet, closing the door. As quietly as he could he backed up into the rack of clothing, trying to hide. Soul ran his hand along the back wall of the closet trying to move into the dark corner.

When his hand met something soft and slick he stopped, a feeling of dread washing over him. He felt his breath hitch when the strong smell of rust hit his senses and he could feel something wet on his hand. He couldn't light a candle, Kid had had the lighter, but the feeling of glasses beneath his fingertips confirmed the corpse's identity.

He'd found the Professor.

He swore mentally, snatching his hand away. He needed to find Kid; he hoped the shinigami was safe.

Before he could leave the closet he heard the door to the room creak open slowly. Soul held his breath, waiting. Soft footsteps on the carpet were the only indication that he was not alone. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck as the hairs stood on end. He gripped his diminutive “knife”, the only weapon in his arsenal. He wished he'd gone back for the lead pipe, or at least picked up something more substantial in the kitchen. 

They really must have been out of it if they hadn't even done that.

His breath quickened against his will as the footsteps drew nearer to his hiding spot. He prepared himself to attack, unwilling to die next to the Professor, of all people.

Unwilling to die without seeing Kid one more time.

The door to the closet began to open slowly and as soon as it was wide enough Soul sprung. He lunged forward, grabbing the person by the neck and using his momentum to propel them backwards. There was a surprised yelp before he felt a pair of feet on his stomach, using his own momentum to flip him over the intruder and onto his back.

He landed hard, the breath knocked out of him. He rolled to the side and into a crouched position, the blade in his hand ready. 

“Soul!” A voice gasped, causing him to stiffen.

There was the sound of a match being struck and the older Thompson sister's face was suddenly visible in the darkness. She lit a big multi-candle holder, casting most of the room in an orange glow, the seven little flames dancing. 

“I'm so glad it's you!” She continued, putting the light on one of the side tables. “I've been so scared. What happened to your eye?” She took a step towards him.

“...” Soul was silent, taking a step back and refusing to lower his weapon.

“What's wrong?” Liz asked, her eyes wide. 

“Where have you been?” The scythe weapon questioned, watching her carefully.

“What do you mean? I've been hiding!” 

“Where?” Soul demanded.

“In the kitchen.” Liz answered after a moment. “Seriously, what's wrong?”

He took another step back, his muscles tense. “That's strange. Kid and I were in the kitchen and you never showed yourself. We didn't find you either.”

“I...it must have been when I fell asleep.” Liz replied.

“Really? What happened to you when the lights went out?”

“What's with the twenty questions?” Liz asked in annoyance, frowning at him. “Patti and I ran for our lives, that's what happened!”

“Enough games, I know you're the one behind this.” Soul growled, glaring at her.

Liz stiffened, watching him. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

The older Thompson sister laughed suddenly, her voice a high, cold sound. “What tipped you off?”

“A couple of things.” Soul answered slowly, his heart sinking at her confirmation. “It was the knife that started it.”

“I didn't mean to leave it behind.” Liz answered immediately, pulling out a nail file and filing her nails. “Maka and Black Star surprised me.”

“And then the boxes.” Soul continued, his eyes darting around the room. 

“Boxes?” 

_“Maka was sorting through everything in the cellar and Patti and I left to go and find some boxes to carry all the goods in so we would only have to make one trip.” Liz babbled as they made it to the door to the cellar. “When we got back she was trapped in there!”_

“You said you and Patti were going to grab boxes for the items in the cellar and yet, when we got there, there weren't any boxes.”

“Ah, an oversight on my part.” She acknowledged. 

“And finally the holy water. Only someone from Shibusen would know about that little gem.”

“You know, I wasn't expecting you to give up your own _eye_ for him. You must really love him, hm?”

“Liz, I know you wouldn't do this.” Soul said quietly, watching her. “Throw off the spell those witches have on you.”

The older Thompson sister laughed again. “Do you still honestly think this is about the witches?”

“What?”

“I thought you had it all figured out, Soul- _kun_.” Liz sighed, stopping her filing. “There never was any witches.”

Soul's eyes widened. No witches? But then, she was doing this of her own free will? 

“Why Liz? Why are you doing this?”

“That's for you to find out.” She replied, smiling. “Or should I say, Kid, since you're going to die anyway. The only way out of this game is to kill me and the _real_ person behind all this.”

“You killed your own _sister_!” Soul cried out, unable to stand it. He couldn't comprehend what was happening here. To be betrayed so completely... “And then you killed Ms. Scarlet before coming after us.”

“Ms. Scarlet?” Liz asked, her smile widening. “I never killed Ms. Scarlet.”

“But you just said-”

Later, Soul would blame it on his missing eye. His perception was completely thrown off and he hadn't seen the attack coming from the side. The only thing that saved him was the flicker in Liz's eyes and his fast reflexes. He ducked sideways as a figure leaped forward, plunging a knife that was meant for his heart into his shoulder. He groaned, stumbling backwards as the blade was ripped out of his shoulder, blood running down his arm. 

Patti moved to stand beside her sister, a dripping knife clutched in her hand. 

“How? You're supposed to be dead.” Soul mumbled, putting his hand over his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

“Are you sure she was dead?” Liz grinned from beside her sister.

Soul hesitated. Had they checked for a pulse? She had certainly looked dead. The pain in his shoulder, however, told him she was very much alive.

“Ahe hehehe! Patti tricked them!” The younger Thompson sister giggled, twirling the knife. 

“I didn't kill Ms. Scarlet, I was too busy chasing you guys.” Liz said. “Patti killed her.”

Soul was silent. This was bad, very bad. The situation was spiraling out of his control. The scythe was unsure as to his chances against one sister, let alone both. He needed to hold on until Kid could find him.

“This whole game has been ridiculously easy.” Liz was speaking again and Soul concentrated on her. “The Colonel was easy to kill considering Patti had been informed of everyone's allergies. It was a simple enough matter to add some cinnamon to his wine.”

Patti giggled, bouncing up and down. “His taste buds were muted, you know. He couldn't tell the difference!” 

“I lured Mr. Green into the conservatory and the two of us killed him together. We knew you guys wouldn't believe it was one of your own in the beginning, so Tsubaki wasn't suspicious when we met her in the swimming pool room.” 

“She was difficult to hold under the water!” Patti singsonged, mimicking flailing arms. 

Soul felt sick.

“Mrs. White was our first mistake.” Liz replied, pacing around the scythe weapon, her eyes predatory. “We weren't expecting Maka and Black Star to come downstairs so early. We had to make a hasty retreat.”

“Black Star was simple enough to kill, who do you think made his coffee?” Patti smiled widely, circling around Soul as well. “We rigged the cellar the night before Maka's death.”

“It worked out so perfectly.” Liz added.

Soul could feel his temper rising, his eye narrowing. They were talking about killing their friends like another person would mention the weather.

“And once the lights went out it was just a matter of picking you off one-by-one.” Liz finished, stopping in front of Soul. The 'swish swish' of a twirling blade told him Patti was behind him.

“Then where did you hide the bodies?” Soul asked, frowning.

“We didn't, they're gone.” Patti grinned, showing him the closet where the Professor had been. His corpse had disappeared. Soul was so confused.

“You still haven't told me why.” The scythe weapon stated, trying to bide his time. Where the hell was Kid?

Liz grinned, her eyes bright. “Why not?” 

And with that, she lunged forward.

Soul was expecting it. He slipped into a trance-like state, his mind blank of feeling as his injuries sank to the back of his conscious. He stepped to the side, slicing Liz's arm with his tiny weapon. Patti swiped at him from behind and he ducked, the blade chopping off a bit of his white hair. He whipped his foot along the ground, tripping the younger sister. Soul lunged towards her as she fell to the ground, his blade raised but Liz plowed into him, knocking him over. 

The older Thompson sister shot at him with her gun and Soul rolled to the side, kicking a chair towards her and causing her to drop her weapon. Patti was back up again, her eyes demonic as she crouched on top of him, her knife singing through the air as she brought it down towards him. Soul grabbed her arm in both of his, stopping her momentum. They struggled, Patti trying to stab him and the scythe giving his all to stop the blade as it inched closer. The younger Thompson sister growled, using her free hand to jab his injured shoulder. Soul cried out, his grip slackening and Patti's knife cut into his cheek. The scythe weapon kicked his feet up and under the young woman, launching her over him and onto the floor. 

Liz was back. She tried to shoot at Soul but her gun was empty and the scythe weapon took the opportunity to stab her in the foot. She screamed, kicking at him with her other foot and knocking the blade out of his hands. He felt a few of his ribs crack and shatter. Soul rolled over, ignoring the pain and used the bed to pull himself up, his red eye searching for something to use as a weapon. Liz came at him with his own weapon and he jumped back sluggishly, the blade slicing into his thigh. He cried out as she dragged it downwards, a deep gash marring his skin. He grabbed a lamp on the bedside table, smashing it on the older Thompson sister's head. She stumbled back, blood running down the side of her face.

Patti roared, lunging at him. She punched him in the gut, aggravating his broken ribs. He staggered back against the wall, coughing up blood. The younger sister tried to punch him in the face but he leaned sideways, forcing her fist to sink into the wall. He noticed something shiny around her neck and he grabbed it, slipping it into his pocket while she was occupied. Soul hit her hard in the elbow before she could retract her hand, the force breaking her arm. She cried out as the bone pierced her flesh, blood trailing down it. 

Soul felt a sudden sensation of vertigo and he stumbled onto one knee. The room was spinning around him and he felt hot, like he was sitting in front of a furnace. His head was pounding in time with his heart, each beat sending shooting pains throughout his body. His breathing was labored, each breath rattling in his chest. He could hear a wet sound and he coughed up more blood. He was so tired...

“Blood loss and exhaustion.” Liz sneered, picking up her gun and slowly reloading it. “Looks like your time is up. You put up a good fight considering your state.”

Soul felt helpless, the bandage around his eye showing crimson spots where the blood was leaking through. He couldn't move his right arm where he had been stabbed and he was finding it getting steadily harder to breathe. His thigh was burning, the deep cut shredding muscle, the white of a bone showing beneath the blood. 

Patti giggled, her broken arm forgotten as she moved to stand beside her sister. 

“Don't worry, you'll be with your 'family' soon.” The younger Thompson sister mocked. “I expect Kid to follow you soon too. We might draw it out a little though, it's more fun that way.”

Soul glared, his red eye shining in rage. _'Kid...'_

If he was going to die he was taking one of them with him.

With a last burst of strength he lunged forward, causing the sisters to gasp in surprise. Liz raised her gun and shot him, the bullet piercing his side but he continued forward, grabbing the older sister's hand and twisting it painfully, breaking the wrist. She screamed and her eyes widened in fear at the demonic look in his eye. Soul wrapped his hand around hers, twisting her sideways, shoving her forward and into Patti, sinking the gun into the younger sister's stomach. He squeezed Liz's hand, forcing her to push the trigger and shoot her sister. Soul continued to squeeze the trigger, sending bullet after bullet into Patti. 

“No!” Liz yelled, shoving Soul away but it was too late. The younger sister crashed to the floor, the look of surprise still on her face. She landed heavily and didn't move. 

Soul stumbled into the wall and fell over, officially spent. He lay on his side, wheezing but proud. It was up to Kid now...

“You bastard.” Liz hissed, kneeling next to her sister. She glared at him as he laughed, his voice slightly hysterical.

“Just returning the favor.” He sneered.

“You know, I was going to put you out of your misery but I think I'll let you suffer.” Liz commented, standing up. “You're going to bleed to death soon anyway. Maybe you'll survive long enough to watch me kill your boyfriend.”

“Fuck you.” Soul growled, coughing up blood.

“Enjoy the show, Soul Eater.” Liz picked up her gun with her good hand and slipped it into her pocket. She grabbed the candle holder, giving him one last kick before leaving him in darkness.

Soul lay on the floor, unable to move. He could dimly see Patti's corpse across from him and he blinked as black tendrils appeared on the ground. Shadowy hands shot out of the floor and wrapped around the younger Thompson sister before pulling her down and into the floorboards where she disappeared. 

'What the hell?' He thought, staring dazedly at the empty spot. Was that what had happened to all of the corpses? _'Kid, I'm sorry.'_ Was his last thought before he lost consciousness.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kid had been knocked back by the explosion, hitting the wall behind him. His shoulder was dislocated and he was nearly knocked out. When he heard the gunshots he stumbled up, trying to find his candle so he could relight it. When he found it he pushed his arm back into it's socket with a moan of pain and retraced his steps back towards where he had left Soul only to find the hallway blocked by debris. 

He was trapped.

“Soul?” He called, afraid that the other man had been buried in the wreckage. 

He stepped forward, placing his candle to the side and inspecting the blockage. It was going to take him awhile to get through. He sighed, rolling up his sleeves. He had to hurry, Soul was either buried or alone on the other side. Kid didn't want to leave him in such a weakened state.

The shinigami began to clear the wreckage, sweat already running down the side of his face. He might be a shinigami but he was exhausted. He had given Soul the extra bread, knowing he had better stamina than the other man. His body felt weak and his eyes drooped but he continued on, shoving the debris behind him.

Kid stiffened when he heard more gunshots and some thuds. It sounded like an all-out war was going on on the other side. The shinigami quickened his pace, fear lending him strength. 

_'Soul...'_

It took him well over twenty minutes to clear enough space to get through. He grabbed his candle, his eyes darting around the hall. Soul was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't heard any sounds for at least five minutes and he hesitated.

Was he already too late?

He moved forward, checking each room he passed with no luck. Finally he came across a bedroom where the door was slightly ajar. He put out his light, readying his makeshift flamethrower. He inched forward, pushing the door open carefully. 

The room was a mess.

There was a chair knocked over, broken glass from a lamp littered the floor. He lit his candle again, noticing the hole in the wall nearby. He looked around, closing the door behind him in case someone came back.

There was a dark shape on the floor and Kid crept towards it quietly. It wasn't moving, he wasn't even sure if it was a person or not. As he got closer he dropped his can of hairspray, nearly dropping his candle as well in his haste to reach the form on the ground.

“Soul!” He whispered, horrified. 

The other man was laying on his side, his arms out in front of him. His hair was tinged crimson, his eyes closed. There was blood everywhere, leaking out of the edge of his mouth and oozing from his leg. There was a gash on his dangerously pale cheek and his lips were slightly blue. 

Kid sank to his knees beside him, checking for a pulse. It was barely there, he almost didn't catch it. His eyes skimmed the weapon's body, taking in all the injuries. He listened closely and could hear a wet rattling coming from deep in his chest, testament to broken ribs. Kid stared at him in anguish, unsure of where to start.

Knowing it was no use.

Soul suddenly coughed violently, more blood pooling from his mouth. He groaned and Kid leaned forward, placing a hand on his arm.

“What's the...diagnosis...doc?” The scythe weapon whispered, his speech labored.

“Shut up, you'll be fine.” Kid said shakily, sagging in relief. At least Soul could talk. “Don't move.”

“Not...going...anywhere.”

The shinigami shushed him again, quickly pulling out all the first aid supplies he had managed to carry on him. It was nowhere near enough. Kid did what he could, using some of the sheets on the bed as makeshift bandages. There was so much blood, the shinigami was shocked that Soul was even still conscious.

The other man was trying to tell him something, but he was having trouble talking. Kid leaned forward.

“P...ock...et.”

The shinigami frowned, digging around in Soul's pockets. He found a couple more candles and...a key?

“What is this?” He asked, looking at the scythe weapon.

“Pa...tti.” Soul gasped, staring at Kid intently. “It was...them...can't explain.” He coughed again and ignored the shinigami's attempts to stop him from talking. “Killed Patti...Liz still...still out...there.”

Kid felt dread in his stomach. Liz and Patti had attacked Soul? They were the killers? A small part of him had already suspected this, but he hadn't wanted to admit it to himself. Liz and Patti were like sisters to him. Annoying ones that refused to eat their cookies over the sink and unfolded his carefully laid out toilet paper.

He felt like his whole world was tipped upside down. They'd lost everyone and now it looked like he was going to lose Soul too.

“Stop, I'll finish this and then we'll escape here and get you to a doctor.” Kid replied, holding onto Soul's hand. “You need to hold on.”

“Someone...else...involved.” The other man groaned, trying to get everything across to the shinigami. “Key...on Patti...important.”

Kid looked at the key. He could guess which room it belonged to.

_“What about this room here?” Soul asked, pointing to a heavy oak door at the back of the house._

_“I don't know, Mrs. White said that only the Colonel uses that room. She said that he's the only one with the key.”_

_Kid and Soul looked at the door curiously. It was, unsurprisingly, locked and so, with a wistful glance at the door, they allowed Patti to continue the tour._

“Alright.” Kid said determinedly. He carefully grabbed Soul, picking him up piggyback style. The other man gasped in pain but grabbed onto the shinigami. 

Kid slowly made his way down the hall, away from the wreckage. The heavy oak door that had always been locked stood before him. He was sure Liz was there too. He gently placed Soul on the floor, the weapon's eye drooping as he fought to stay conscious. Kid placed a lit candle beside him and crouched in front of him.

“Stay alive until I finish this.” He stated, staring at his red eye intently.

“Yessir.” Soul whispered, managing to give the shinigami a half smile. “Be...careful.”

“I'll be quick.” Kid replied, standing up and fishing the key out of his pocket. Time was against him, he needed to hurry.

“...I...” Soul choked, pulling on Kid's pant leg. The shinigami looked at him. “I...”

Kid could feel tears welling in his eyes and he pushed them back, crouching in front of Soul once again and putting his hands on either side of his face gently. 

“Just hold on and we'll get out of here. You can tell me when I get back.”

“I'll...wait. I pro...mise.”

Kid nodded, giving the other man a quick kiss before pulling himself up and unlocking the door, stepping through it.

Soul watched him go, his eyes pained and anguished.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The room was completely empty with the exception of Liz standing opposite him and a large mirror on the back wall.

Suddenly it all made sense.

The door shut behind him of it's own accord and Kid ignored it, staring at the older Thompson sister.

“Welcome Kid! Haven't seen you in awhile.” She paused and smiled. “How's Soul?”

Kid's yellow eyes narrowed in hate. “He'll be fine once I finish with you.”

“I wouldn't be so sure.” Liz shrugged, although Kid noticed she favored her right wrist. It was wrapped tightly in a bandage. The shinigami guessed it was broken.

Soul sure put up a fight.

“You don't have Patti around to watch your back. I might be weakened by the poison, but I'm still in relatively good shape.” Kid replied, stepping closer to her. 

“We'll see about that.” She whipped out twin pistols, firing them at the shinigami.

Kid dodged to the side, using his speed to his advantage. He was hit with one bullet in the shoulder and another in the thigh but he ignored the pain, running until she ran out of ammunition. When she stopped to reload he lunged forward, kicking her in the side. She stumbled, nearly falling over and he brought up the can of hairspray and lighter.

“This is for the others.” He growled, sending a blast of fire at the older Thompson sister. 

Liz screamed as she tried to roll out of the way but the flames hit her right arm, burning it. She rolled forward, knocking into Kid's legs and sending him to the ground. She reached behind her with her good arm, pulling a machete out of a sheath on her back.

She must have armed herself while he was tending to Soul.

Her blade sliced through the can of hairspray, sending it flying. Kid landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Liz lunged at him and he kicked her in the shin. She doubled over, grabbing her leg and he kicked her in the head, knocking her over. 

He used his legs to propel himself onto his feet. 

“Why did you do it Liz?” He called out as she picked herself up off the floor.

“Figure it out yourself.” She hissed, wiping the blood off her face. “I just have to waste some time. How long do you think Soul will hold on?”

Kid growled, running forward. Liz was ready, twisting to the side a second before he reached her and slicing him in the side. He stumbled backwards as blood dripped on the floor. He managed a flying kick, hitting her in the chest. She gasped, dropping the machete as she hit the wall. 

Kid picked up the weapon, darting forward and plunging the knife into her stomach. She groaned, eyes wide as she stared at him.

“That was for Soul.” He snarled, twisting the blade.

Liz blinked at him a moment before sinking to the ground, a small smile on her face. She twitched on the floor for a few moments before eventually falling still. 

Kid was breathing heavily, the gash on his side oozing blood. He felt dizzy but he held on, stumbling back to the door and opening it, intent on getting back to Soul.

The scythe weapon was where he left him, propped up against the wall. 

“Soul.” He gasped, staggering over to him. “It's finished.”

The other man didn't answer.

“Soul?” Kid asked worriedly, sinking to his knees in front of him. The weapon's eyes were closed, he looked almost peaceful, like he was sleeping. The shinigami raised a shaking hand to the other man's shoulder, shaking him slightly.

Soul slumped forward from the movement but there was no reply and Kid shook his head silently, grabbing the other man's wrist and checking for a pulse.

There was none.

“No...” Kid moaned, clutching Soul tightly. “Don't. Don't do this.”

The silence was deafening. When had he gotten so used to the other man's sarcastic remarks? It was strange not to hear his quiet responses, his growls and his soft keystrokes on the piano. All those little things that he had taken for granted. He hadn't gotten to tell him...

“You said you would wait!” He yelled suddenly, angrily. “You don't break your promises! That's not cool!” 

Tears slid down his face as he clutched Soul closer to him, his body wracked with sobs. He couldn't take it, this was too much. All throughout this nightmare the scythe weapon was a constant rock in the waves of torment surrounding them. He hadn't been able to comprehend ending this without him. 

Without telling him he loved him, flat out.

He sobbed for what felt like forever, until the tears dried up along with his heart. There was a whooshing sound as black tendrils began to appear in the wall. Kid stared as black, shadow hands shot out of the ground and wall, wrapping themselves around Soul's corpse. 

“No...” He whispered as they began to pull the weapon away, sinking into the floor. “No!” He yelled, trying to pull him back but the arms were too strong. He watched in torment as Soul was torn from him, disappearing.

He sat there for a moment longer before his face hardened and he stood up, a murderous look in his eyes. He stalked back to the room with the mirror, Liz's body had disappeared in his absence. Kid marched up to the mirror on the wall, staring at it.

_Liz cried at this news, hugging her sister tightly. “We tried to contact Shinigami-sama through the mirrors but it didn't work either!” She added morosely._

“Bullshit.” He muttered coldly, breathing on the mirror to fog it up. “42-42-564.”

Shinigami-sama appeared in the mirror, his big hand waving enthusiastically. “Kid!” He said cheerfully. “It's nice to see you! We've been trying to get in contact with you!”

“Enough games, chichiue.” Kid replied darkly, staring at his father. “I know you're the one behind this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -hides from angry readers- Please don't hurt me!
> 
> Are some of you confused? Or is it all making sense now? It'll all be cleared up in the next and final chapter, I promise. I can't say much.


	8. Chapter 8

Shinigami-sama didn't even have time to react as Kid lunged forward, his body plunging through the surface of the mirror. The glass rippled softly, the cold pressure never failing to unnerve the younger shinigami. 

Kid felt his feet hit solid ground and he managed not to stumble. In fact, the moment he stepped through the mirror he felt infinitely better. He looked down at his body and noticed his injuries were gone. He wasn't about to question his good fortune as he turned his bright yellow eyes on his father. 

His betrayer.

The thought of his father being the mastermind behind this entire ordeal sent a sharp pain through his heart. There was a tense, awkward silence as Kid watched his father carefully. As unlikely as it seemed, all the clues pointed to Liz and Patti being the killers. The older Thompson sister hinted she was getting her orders from someone higher up. The mirror told him it had to be his own father. But why? Why would the Shibusen leader want to kill some of his strongest allies?

Kid could feel his soul brimming with so many pent up emotions he could barely contain it. Here he was, having gone through Hell, lost his friends, his family and his love and his father was just standing there, watching him silently. He could still see them in his head. Tsubaki's pale and limp body, Black Star's swift and bloody demise. He could still hear Maka's horrifying screams and the smell of burnt flesh. And Soul, he could still see him sitting, blood dripping from his face where he had torn out his own eye. And later, laying mangled and broken, staying conscious long enough to warn him of the identity of the true killers. 

The air around him was crackling with energy, the waves of fury radiating from the shinigami causing his hair and clothing to flutter, small objects floating up around him. The glass in the mirror began to crack slightly, tiny, sparkling shards drifting through the air.

The barrier that had been holding back his powers at the mansion was no longer restraining him. His chances of defeating Shinigami-sama were slim, but...

“Kid...” Shinigami-sama began, but his son's withering glare startled him into silence.

“Do I even want to know why?” Kid asked darkly, sparks of black lightning sizzling around his hands. “How could you do this?”

Shinigami-sama shook his head slowly, looking at his son. “Let me explain.” 

“There is nothing to explain here. Your reaction tells me all I need to know.” Kid spat, shifting his stance slightly. He looked like he was ready to pounce, his muscles tense and his eyes blazing fury.

Shinigami-sama felt the first tendrils of actual fear begin to creep up on him, causing him to shudder slightly. He had never seen his son so furious, and he had the right to be. Not only that, Kid was already close to matching him in power. He might even be stronger than the older shinigami by now. He was not an opponent he could afford to take lightly.

“Enough of this.” Kid spoke quietly, his voice low and dangerous. “This ends here.” 

The younger shinigami raised his hand slowly, almost casually as the mirror behind him splintered into hundreds of sharp, jagged pieces, floating in the air briefly before launching themselves at the startled Shinigami-sama.

“Wait-”

The shattering sound cut across the older shinigami's plea and he barely erected a barrier in time to block the onslaught of piercing glass that suddenly pelted towards him. 

Kid did not wait for him to retaliate as he lunged forwards, jumping high in the air before bringing a sparking shard of glass down on his father's head. Shinigami-sama managed to dodge just in time, the glass missing his head by inches and scraping down the side of his white mask instead. The gash left behind sizzled with black lightning, causing the older shinigami to wince.

Kid had barely landed on his feet when he spun to the side, kicking his father in the stomach with enough force to knock him sideways. Shinigami-sama fought back, his huge, gloved hand grabbing his son and slamming him into one of the pillars. Kid didn't make a sound as his head cracked on the cement, the sound echoing in the vast room. 

“Kid-” Shinigami-sama began but was cut off with a cry of pain as his son sent a blast of raw power, it's force strong enough to send his father flying. Shinigami-sama fell hard, ignoring the stinging pain as he landed on the discarded shards of glass. Kid was much stronger than he had anticipated. He was surprised at how far his son had come. When had he grown up so fast? 

He looked up as Kid approached him, the glass splintering under his shoes. The father couldn't help but notice his son's anger was such that he didn't even noticed his rumpled appearance or the fact that he was missing a button on his suit jacket. The shard in his hand crackled with dark energy and Shinigami-sama looked up into Kid's angry yellow eyes. 

“They're alive.”

And with those two words the fight suddenly drained out of Kid's body, leaving him feeling weak.

“You lie.” He frowned, looking at his father for any trace of guile. 

“Shinigami-sama!” A new voice yelled and Kid felt a burning pain in his side as he was hit with a blast, sending him into the broken mirror behind him. 

The younger shinigami soon found himself surrounded by Stein and Spirit, the latter looking shocked at what he had seen. He tried to get up but realized he was trapped by Stein's threads. He hung his head in remorse. He had failed.

“Are you okay Shinigami-sama?” Spirit asked, helping the older shinigami up. 

“Yes, yes, thank you.” Shinigami-sama replied, turning a sorrowful gaze on his son. “Kid, listen to me. They are not gone. In fact, they should be here shortly.”

“How can I trust you after all that has happened?”

Before Shinigami-sama could reply there was a loud cracking noise as a black chasm opened up in the ground nearby. Shadowy hands shot up into the air, creating a dome over top of it. The younger shinigami watched, eyes wide as blue lightning crackled around the dome.

Kid eyed the dome carefully as the shadows began to recede, leaving several prone forms in it's wake. 

“What?” He whispered in disbelief, his hand loosening it's grip on his weapon. 

They were all there, looking as though they were sleeping, their injuries gone. Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patti and (Kid felt his heart leap with hope.) Soul. 

Tsubaki twitched on the floor, opening her eyes groggily and blinking as Shinigami-sama and Stein walked over.

“What happened?” She asked, her voice slightly shaky as she looked around at the others. 

Before anyone could reply Black Star shot straight up on the ground, jumping to his feet with his fists raised, ready for a fight. He blinked in confusion for a moment before he spotted his partner. With a strangled yelp he rushed forward, tackling the young woman in a forceful hug.

“Tsubaki!” He yelped, pulling the girl close with a little too much force. “I thought...” His voice trailed off as tears welled up in his eyes.

There was a startled scream and Maka thrashed on the floor.

“Maka!” Spirit yelled, grabbing her arms to forestall her movements. 

The female meister's haunted green eyes shot open and she stopped thrashing. Her father slowly let her go and she sat up, lifting her hands to her eyes and blinking at them. “What...?” She whispered.

“Ahe hehehe! Patti had a weird dream!” The younger Thompson sister's voice suddenly laughed and Kid's head snapped in her direction. She was sitting on the floor next to Liz and though she was laughing and acting like her usual self, the shinigami could tell that something was off. 

“Don't laugh so loud, sister has a headache.” Liz grumbled from her position on the floor. She was staring at the ceiling (or rather, the endless sky) and frowning. 

Kid tensed, wanting to attack. His brain was unable to fully comprehend what was going on. 

There was a quiet groan and Kid stiffened, looking over at Soul as the other man rolled over, blinking up at everyone. 

“What the hell?” Soul growled, raising his hand to his previously injured eye. Before he could say anything else his eyes landed on the two sisters near him and his heart skipped a beat, his disoriented brain resorting to auto-pilot as he jumped up, lunging at the older Thompson sister.

“Soul, no!” Shinigami-sama yelled, his big hand knocking the scythe weapon over before holding him and stalling his movements.

“Fuck, let me go!” Soul roared, struggling valiantly in the Death God's grip. His red eyes looked murderous as they settled on the two sisters.

“You don't understand-”

“Let him go.” Kid demanded coldly from his position on the floor.

Soul noticed him trapped and he snarled, transforming his arm into a scythe and plunging it viciously into Shinigami-sama's hand. The Death God cried out in pain, dropping the weapon in his surprise. Soul rolled on the ground, landing in a crouched position. He ran towards Kid, plunging his elbow violently into Spirit's face when he tried to stop him. Maka, Black Star and Tsubaki quickly joined him, the four of them standing guard over their trapped comrade.

“We want to know what's going on here!” Maka yelled, glaring at Shinigami-sama.

“Why did you kill us?” Tsubaki asked, her eyes sad as she looked at the sisters.

“We didn't do anything!” Liz cried, moving closer to her sister.

Black Star looked shocked. “YOU two were the ones that killed everyone?” 

“We didn't mean to kill anyone!”

“What are you talking about, you were _boasting_ about it!”

“It wasn't US!”

“EVERYONE QUIET!” Shinigami-sama yelled.

There was an awkward silence as everyone blinked at each other.

“MAKAAAAAAAA!” Spirit cried suddenly, launching himself at his daughter in an attempt to hug her, blood running freely from his nose where Soul had hit him.

He was stopped by Stein who grabbed him in midair, pushed him to the floor and promptly sat on him. The meister calmly pulled out a cigarette and lit it as the scythe weapon thrashed and cried beneath him.

“Stein, let Kid go.” Shinigami-sama ordered, nodding as his son was released and stood up to stand beside his lover. “Let us explain to you all what is going on.” Shinigami-sama called out, causing everyone to look at him. “Now, as you know, you have all been accepted into my elite guard. However, Professor Stein has been working on a way to train our new recruits and to help build their teamwork skills. We decided to test it on you.”

Silence reigned. The older shinigami was sure he felt the already frigid temperature in the room plummet. 

“You've got to be kidding me.” Soul finally groaned, his head in his hand.

Black Star shook his head. “No way.”

“You're joking, right?” Liz sneered, looking disgusted.

Maka looked livid. “You do realize that we really thought that our comrades were dead? We had no idea...” She trailed off, unable to properly explain how distressing the whole experience had been. 

“You were supposed to know that you were in a virtual reality.” Stein added, looking over at them. “However, once Tsubaki passed on and we realized that you all did _not_ know this, we tried to get you all out.” 

“It didn't work, you were all trapped there until the game was finished.” Shinigami-sama said sadly. “It was just a prototype, after all.”

“Yes, a small...miscalculation on my part.” Stein added, his glasses glinting and a smirk on his face.

“Yeah right.” Soul whispered to Kid, his red eye twitching.

Kid couldn't help but agree.

“So what you're saying,” The younger shinigami began, his eyes dangerous. “Is that we went through all this mental and physical anguish all for the sake of testing out this...this...virtual reality?”

“That about sums it up.” Stein replied.

“Soul ripped out his own eye.” Kid emphasized with a glare.

“Well...that was unexpected.” Shinigami-sama muttered, showing some remorse.

“I don't believe this.” Soul growled. “What about Liz and Patti?”

“The Thompson sisters were not in control of their actions. We had planned on testing your problem solving abilities by making the murderer one of your own. We did not intend to traumatize you with your friends' deaths as you were supposed to know this was a game.” Stein elaborated.

“We're terribly sorry.” Shinigami-sama nodded solemnly, looking downcast. “It wasn't meant to be like this.”

“Well unfortunately sorry isn't going to cut it.” Liz frowned, shaking her head. “It felt real to us and I'm not easily going to forget what Patti and I did, even if we had no control over our actions.”

The younger Thompson sister nodded sadly. 

“Perhaps it would have been a better idea to start off the simulation with something a lot less...stressful.” Tsubaki cut in quietly. The female ninja was always a patient and forgiving person but even she was unhappy with what had happened.

“Of course, we will fix the device and test it with something minor.” Shinigami-sama agreed.

“Well it's a little late for that!” Maka yelled, clenching her fists. “You threw us in there to help us on our teamwork and all you managed to do was tear us apart! You think we can easily forget that Liz and Patti killed us? They might not have really done it, but the memory is still there and it isn't fair to them!”

Stein stared at the group seriously. “We are in the midst of a war. Unfortunately watching your friends die is something you will have to get used to.”

Soul's eyes glinted dangerously. “The day I _get used_ to watching my friends die is the day that I am no longer me.”

Stein sighed, looking away. 

“So let me get this straight.” Black Star cut in, his voice low. “All of this crap we've been through is Stein's fault?”

“Sounds about right to me.” Soul replied, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows calmly before promptly lunging forward, tackling the startled professor to the ground where he then proceeded to try and strangle him. Black Star and Patti quickly joined him in the violence. 

“Soul!” Maka yelped, running forward with Liz and Tsubaki as they attempted to stop their companions from killing their former teacher.

“Is this the machine?” Kid asked Shinigami-sama, pointing to a glowing orb floating off the ground near the broken mirror. At his father's confirmation, the younger shinigami grabbed the orb and threw it forcefully on the ground, the machine shattering into pieces with a loud crash. “Problem solved.”

 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“I won't be back tonight, I'm going to spend the night at Tsubaki's.” Maka was saying.

“Yeah.” Soul grunted in reply, not even looking up from his piano.

“You look terrible, try to get some sleep okay?”

“Yeah.”

Maka sighed before closing the door behind her.

Soul glanced back after she left. It had been two days since he'd returned from the ordeal that was the murder mansion and he had barely slept. The few moments of sleep he had managed to catch were ruined by nightmares.

He sighed, slouching on the piano seat. He hadn't heard from Kid since then either. He hoped that the other man didn't think that what they had in the mansion was just a mistake brought on by trauma. 

Soul began to play a song he'd been working on since he got back. He was glad that Maka was gone, he would be able to completely concentrate on the piano. 

About an hour later he shook his head. Who was he trying to kid? There was only one person on his mind, and he was hesitant to go to the shinigami. With a sigh, he got up, shuffling into the kitchen and putting on a pot of coffee. There was a knock at the door and Soul blinked, plodding towards it. He opened it slowly, a glare on his face as he prepared to tell whoever it was to go away.

“Hi.” Kid smiled, looking at him.

“Hey.” Soul grunted, surprised. He hadn't expected the other man to randomly show up, though he couldn't hide the pleased smile from quirking up the sides of his mouth. He stepped back, silently inviting the shinigami in.

Kid stepped inside, taking in Soul's appearance. The scythe weapon was wearing a pair of over sized, gray sweatpants and a baggy, white t-shirt. His hair was sticking out all over the place and he had dark bags under his eyes. The shinigami couldn't help but look at those red eyes, happy to see both of them looking back at him. 

_Blood was dripping from his face as he stared down at the packet in his hands, the steady drip, drip, drip slicking his hands red and causing a small pool of crimson to accumulate. Kid crawled forwards, reaching out._

He didn't ever want to see Soul that injured ever again.

“What can I do for you?” The scythe asked, bowing theatrically and cutting into Kid's thoughts.

The shinigami had to restrain himself from telling Soul exactly what he could do for him. Now was not the time.

“I thought I'd remind you of a promise you made earlier.” He said instead, sitting on the arm of the couch.

“Promise?” 

_Soul glared. “Shut up!” He glanced at the shinigami and sighed. “Look, Kid, if you stop freaking out I'll let you make my room symmetrical when we get out of here.”_

“To organize your room.”

Soul groaned, running his hand down his face. “Are you serious? Now?”

“You did promise.” Kid smirked, crossing his arms.

The scythe weapon sighed. “Fine, fine. Do what you want.” He led the shinigami to his room. It was a bit of a mess but Soul considered it 'organized chaos'. He knew where everything was, and that was all that mattered. 

Kid eyed the room critically.

“Do you want a coffee? I was just making a pot before you showed up. It should be ready.” Soul offered, leaning on the door frame casually.

Kid nodded, already calculating the room. 

Soul shook his head before retreating to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with the coffee, handing it to the shinigami.

“It's not as bad as I thought it would be.” Kid was saying as Soul took a sip of his coffee. “It should only take about four days.”

The scythe weapon nearly spit out his coffee. “WHAT? Four _days_?” He yelped, looking at the shinigami. “Are you serious?”

“What?” Kid asked, blinking at Soul. “It took me two weeks to fix Marie-sensei's room.”

The other man didn't even want to know why the shinigami was making Marie-sensei's room symmetrical.

“Fine, whatever.” He replied tiredly. “I'll be by the piano.” He hesitated for a moment, his red eyes staring intently at the shinigami, before turning and leaving Kid to do...whatever it was he does when making a room symmetrical.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Four hours later Kid decided it was time for a break. He was hungry and he wanted to take this opportunity to do what he really came here for. 

Not that he didn't want to organize Soul's room, but it was a nice bonus.

He got up off the floor, brushing off his clothes. 

He was going to ask Soul out on a date.

He had concocted this plan with the help of the Thompson sisters who agreed to get Maka out of the apartment for the night so he could be alone with Soul. Tsubaki was happy enough to have a 'girls night' and Kid took a moment to feel sorry for Black Star. 

But only a moment.

He headed out to the living room, stopping as he noticed the figure at the piano. Soul was fast asleep, his head pillowed on his arm on the piano. His other arm was dangling at his side and he was drooling. Kid watched him for a moment, a small smile on his face. 

Maybe he would have to take a rain check on the date.

Deciding that he would save the weapon from waking up with terrible back pain from his uncomfortable position, Kid poked Soul in the side.

“Hey, wake up. You should sleep in your bed.”

“Mmffph...five more minutes...” Soul mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to swat Kid's hands away.

“No, get up.” Kid replied, pulling on the weapon's arm. The other man slowly got up, allowing the shinigami to direct him to his room. He flopped down face first onto his bed.

“You really should make sure you sleep more.” Kid sighed, looking at him.

“Can't.” Came Soul's muffled reply.

“Why?”

“'Cause.” The weapon rolled over, looking up at Kid. Was he blushing slightly? “You're not here.” He muttered, looking anywhere but at Kid.

The shinigami blinked, blushing slightly as he looked at the other man. Soul couldn't sleep without Kid there?

The scythe weapon grinned suddenly, reaching up and grabbing the shinigami's tie, pulling him roughly onto the bed beside him. Soul wrapped his arms around the other man, pulling him closer.

“A bit demanding.” Kid sighed, a small smile on his face. “You really should get some sleep.”

“No. Mine.” Soul replied, smirking. “Sleep comes later.” He pulled on the shinigami's tie some more, forcing their lips together.

Kid gave a surprised moan as their lips met, but it didn't last long as he pressed Soul deeper into the bed and kissed him so passionately he almost couldn't register it. The scythe weapon arched up off the bed, his hands gripping the back of Kid's hair. Soul's heart was pounding wildly in either excitement or arousal (possibly both) as Kid trailed kisses along his jaw and neck. He could feel his body responding to the sensations, a burning need building deep inside of him as their groins met.

He wanted this. No, he _needed_ this. 

They stared deeply at each other momentarily and Soul could hear Kid's breath as it hitched slightly at the smoldering look in the scythe's eyes as he smirked at him rather seductively. His hand moved stealthily up the shinigami's shirt, the soft skin quivering slightly as Kid shuddered involuntarily at the featherlight touches. The shinigami sucked harder on Soul's tongue in an attempt to muffle his groan of pleasure and the scythe weapon took the chance to slide his hands down the other man's sides and flip them over so that he was now on top.

He grinned down at Kid, pinning the shinigami's arms above him. He wanted to show the man beneath him how he made him feel. How his heart beat sped up whenever he was near, how he couldn't stop thinking about him whenever he was gone. He loved everything about this man from his asymmetrical hair to his perfectionism, and now that he had him he didn't think he could ever let him go. Just the thought of losing him made his heart constrict painfully.

Shoving the dark thoughts aside, Soul's fingers shook in anticipation as he unbuttoned Kid's shirt and slipped it off, tossing it carelessly onto the floor. The shinigami looked like he was going to protest the messing up of his carefully organized room, but Soul silenced him with a passionate kiss.

“I think I owe you for last time.” Soul whispered lowly, sucking on Kid's neck and causing the shinigami to writhe slightly beneath him.

“How so?” Kid panted as the weapon trailed kisses down his collarbone, stopping and sucking on one of his nipples.

Soul just gave him a feral smirk before running kisses down the shinigami's stomach, reveling in the soft moans of pleasure. He stopped at the hem of Kid's pants and undid them slowly, his heartbeat pounding in his chest. The shinigami's pants were strained, the fabric restricting his hard on. Before he could pull them off a fist tangled itself in Soul's shirt and pulled him forward, their lips meeting once more and the scythe weapon shuddered as Kid hungrily and eagerly ran his tongue along Soul's bottom lip. 

The shinigami managed to wiggle out of his pants and Soul blushed slightly, taking in Kid's near naked appearance. He was clad in only his black boxers, his hair tousled slightly from Soul's hands running through it. The scythe weapon grinned, something inside him bursting with possessive pride that only _he_ could see Kid in this asymmetrical state. He hungrily captured Kid's mouth with his own again. The shinigami's fingernails dug into Soul's back at the sensations, almost to the point of being painful. 

The sounds Kid was making were sending him over the edge. 

The abruptness of the scythe's kiss left Kid breathless, his back arching as he reveled in the feel of it. It was warm and oh-so-stimulating. He felt himself harden almost instantly as the scythe weapon's tongue explored his body, tasting every inch of exposed skin. Kid felt like he was going to burst with all the sensations, surely feeling this good was impossible? 

Soul pulled back slightly so the shinigami could pull off his shirt. He could feel himself twitch in response to his lover's ecstasy. He let his teeth nip gently at his ear and Kid moaned, his toes curling slightly. 

“What?” Soul teased, grinning at Kid. 

The shinigami actually growled slightly as he pulled Soul forward, kissing him forcefully on the lips. The scythe weapon melted into it as Kid flipped him over, switching their positions again. The shinigami pulled off Soul's sweatpants easily, leaving him in his boxers. He felt almost vulnerable as he was relieved of the last article of clothing. His lover's yellow eyes had darkened with lust as he took in the scythe weapon's naked form. Kid was panting slightly as he pressed into Soul, the two of them pressed together as their tongues collided. Soul felt like his body was on fire as they ground into each other, the intense stimulations making him almost feel dizzy.

“I love you.” The shinigami said quietly, staring intently at the other man.

“I love you too.” Soul replied, wrapping his arms behind Kid's neck and threading his fingers into his hair. 

The rest of the night was a blur of pure elation filled with sharp, staccato bursts of pleasure that sent them on wave after wave of euphoria. The feeling was so intense, the sensations building and building it was almost like torture, albeit one that they didn't want to end. Their moans intermingled with each other, as the stars shone through Soul's bedroom window.

Afterwards they lay together, their fingers entwined. 

They stayed that way for several moments, both of them content to lay in comfortable silence, listening to each other's soft breathing.

For the first time since their trial at the mansion, they both felt satisfied, dark memories and nightmares receding to the backs of their minds. Soul wrapped his arms around the shinigami once again, has face buried in the other man's messy hair. Kid sighed peacefully, a smile on his face. 

Soul smirked evilly. “I've tossed our clothes all over your attempt at making my room symmetrical.”

Kid frowned. “I guess I'll have to stick around longer to fix it.”

Soul could find no complaint to that idea.

 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“Soul, I'm home!” Maka called out, closing the door behind her. She looked around, checking to see if her partner was asleep. She didn't want to wake him, he had looked dreadful the night before.

She slowly opened the man's bedroom door, poking her head inside. 

“Oh my...” She whispered quietly, taking in the two sleeping forms in front of her. A small trickle of blood ran down her nose as she closed the door behind her with a small click.

She leaned up against the closed door.

“It's about time.” She smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so that's the end! I'd just like to thank everyone who stuck with this even though I "killed" off most of the characters. I know a lot of people wanted to stop reading when that started happening and I thank you for sticking with it.
> 
> I hope that it all makes sense now and that the twist was enjoyable. This has been my brain child for quite awhile and I'm happy to share it with such amazing people. :)
> 
> I struggled a lot with who to make seme. When I started writing this I liked seme-Kid, something that it seems not many other people like, haha. However, since then I've expanded my horizons, I could say, and now I really don't care whose on top so long as they're together. Since I know preferences can ruin the story for some people, I decided to make it ambiguous and let you imagine whoever you preferred to be on top. And apologies if the love scene sucked, I don't have much experience writing it (only reading it XD).

**Author's Note:**

> And so here's the first chapter. I hope you all liked it? I'm not sure if it came out right in my writing, but the whole group are older now, in their early twenties.


End file.
